Loyalties Lie
by sxglow
Summary: "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." She didn't steal the jewel collection, or shoot that security guard, or drop dead in the woods. Risumi is not her real name but apparently 'the resident tree-hugger' is. Resa lives but she's going to lose pretty quickly of she doesn't man up and decide her friends are okay people. First stop: A Hunter licence! KurapikaxOC
1. First Encounters

They say even the poorest flower blooms once in its lifetime. It's that's the case I fear I may have hit my prime graduating from white belt.

They say hunters have epic access to information and resources. And I really need that. Which is why I'm stuck on a ship with several hundred other blokes. They're the rough kind of men, all big and hairy with weapons of steel and looks to match. B.O. too. I'm small and scrawny but I smell like flowers.

All I can see for miles is blue: Blue skies, blue water, blue future… The endless stretch of ocean was pretty three hours ago but the novelty's worn off now and I'm alternately devastatingly bored and acutely agitated. I lean my back against the deck rails and take out a book. I try to read but the words don't process, like a checkout girl scanning items.

Some time and two chapters later, we arrive at Whale Island. Who named it? The island is literally shaped like a whale. It's peaceful and pretty, I bet it's one of those places where everybody knows everybody else. Whale Island is our last stop before Doles Harbor. A few more big blokes climb on. At the end of the line is a blonde. He stood out. He doesn't have weapons or visible muscles, he reading a book while walking, looking very aloof.

His blonde hair shone in the sun and his grey eyes sharp and calculating. He wore a white training suit under a blue and red tabard thingy. If you looked closely, he was extremely pretty; his skin soft and creamy and his body lean. If you didn't look closely, you would assume he was a girl. I studied him but finally decided that I would have to find out his gender some other time. (I'm assuming it's a dude.)

He sat down and continued reading his book, eyes following the words on the page keenly. Mine sat limply in my hand.

Some of the other contestants were making sexist jokes. "Little girlies should run back to their mamas," one of them jeered. Original.

"Go on, go play with your dollies!" another crowed. I don't have either so I put my middle finger up at them. The other guy didn't react but he probably heard everything. Morons, gender isn't a representation of power. Snails have five butt-holes, bet you didn't know that, did you?

When the jokes became vulgar, I frisbee-launch my book straight at the hairy guy's face, leaving a thin rectangular mark across the bridge of his nose. I grin impishly.

"Why you little bitch!" the hairy man yelled.

"You're a bitch!" I retort, full of wit and intelligence. He lunges for me but I side-step and he crashes into the wall behind me. Heh-heh. He stands up and tries again. I dodge and this time he crashes into his mates, all of them lie in a pathetic cussing heap. My middle finger made another solo appearance. It really is true, the bigger you are, the harder you fall.

After some time they manage to separate themselves and this time, all of them come for me. I punch two of them at once, plant my hands on the deck and flip my legs over my body so that my feet smacks the ears of the other two, destroying their sense of balance.

I look down on a sea of male faces chortled is pain, humiliation and anger. "Don't worry guys," I drawl, "no matter what, my middle finger will always stick up for you." I smile sweetly as my finger rose tall as their protector and offender.

The ship has begun to move.

~oOo~

I'm hanging upside down on the pole of one sail when obnoxious yelling and screaming filled the air. One green and one blue figure narrowly miss me on their way down from the sky.

The blue one is an adult dressed in a suit. He landed in an ungraceful heap on the deck, cursing all the way. The green one is just a brat. He's a good few years younger than me, what's he doing here? The kid's wearing a green jacket with a red trim and green shorts. He had a fishing rod strapped to his backpack. Strange choice of weapon. The man is wearing a dark blue suit and holding a brief case… doubt he's here for the Exam, wouldn't survive for ten minutes. But that's what the other guys on the ship thought about me so I guess I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

What a pair they make. The suited man complains loudly and the boy dressed in green tries his best to calm him down. Their roles are quite reversed.

I can feel the warn sunlight softly on my skin, a soft breeze gently combs through my hair. Sleepiness swamps my mind and I fall asleep. Hanging up-side down.

~oOo~

The sharp agitated calls of the seagulls pierce my mind. A flock of them were circling the crow's nest. Living in the forest has its perks – I can speak bird. They were totally freaked out. A waft of rain scented wind wafted fast my nose. It's probably going to rain. Judging from what the birds are fussing about, it'll be a heckuva big storm.

The scent of rain is still pretty weak, it'll probably take the storm another two hours to hit. Depends on the wind.

I watch as the little boy from earlier sniffed the air. His eyes widen and he jumps like a ninja onto the rigging, higher and higher he goes until he was hanging off the crow's nest. He uses one hand to block the sun from his face and inhales deeply. He jumps back down.

"Onee-chan!" his over-enthusiastic voice rang. I just stare at him as I take in his appearance. His hair completely defies the law of physics. A rebel, I like him. Although I cannot smell any form of the sticky stuff people rub into their hair it sticks straight up. His large eyes reflect innocence and gullibility. He is frowning a little. A slight twist of his facial features.

"Onee-chan," he calls again, "a storm is coming, a very big one!" he spreads his arms wide to demonstrate. "Be careful! I'm going to warn the others!" he begins to run off.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, though." I call back. He skids to a violent stop and runs back to me.

"Ehh? How did you know?" he asks.

"The air smells like rain, and the birds are talking about it," it finally occurs to me that this random kid can tell a storm is coming when the sky is clear and shiny.

"I can smell the rain, too, but I can only understand a bit of the seagulls."

"You're one smart kid!" I exclaim, "Say, how long do you reckon it'll take the storm to hit?"

"Hmm... in about two hours." he says confidently.

"You got it, dude!" I pat his head. His hair bends under my touch. Screw science.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the captain peer around the corner and his eyes alternate between the boy and me. He must think we're psychos.

Well, I don't like the cosy indoors so I'm going to stay out here until the actual storm comes.

~oOo~

It's been at least two hours and no one has bothered to wake me up. I like high places but somehow I've ended up sleeping lengthwise on the pole the sails hang off. In the middle of a blinking storm. Heartless pieces of crap. IT'S COLD! My clothes are completely soaked and my hair is plastered to my head. I can feel my body shivering desperately but I can't feel any part of it.

I clumsily jump down onto the deck, slip on the water and the floor attacked my butt. I curse loudly. Freezing storm water pelted down on my body like little miniature bullets. Waves washed over the deck, and me. Shivering like a leaf, I staggered to open the door to the cabin we were all told to sleep in. My shaking fingers grasped at the slippery door knob and somehow manages to yank it open. As soon as I opened it, a few disoriented men hurled out of the door. I staggeringly stepped aside and all of them flew out and over the deck rail – into the raging sea. Close one, I could have gone in too.

I stagger into the room and slam the door closed behind me. I weigh my options: the Blondie is occupying the only hammock, the guy in the suit is lying on the floor reading what I can tell from this distance is a dirty magazine. The kid from earlier is currently surfing on a rolling barrel. In the centre of the room is the bottom bit of the mast, it came in through the ceiling and kept going down below.

I make a beeline for the mast, dodging the flying men causes me lose my momentum a few time but I make it. I clamp onto the pole with both arms and legs wrapped tightly around it and quickly inched my way up.

I stayed there like that for a while, and eventually fell asleep again, clinging on tightly.

~oOo~

The seas have calmed down relatively. The little kid in green was now jumping around helping the men ridden with motion sickness. Not that I could blame them, it was almost like the ship decided to go through that demon possessed storm.

I slid down and grabbed my bag off a hook in the corner. I stripped quickly behind some crates and changed into a white tank top and a soft pink t-shirt with a wide V-neck and a short, black, pleated skirt. I upend my combat books and let the water splash out with satisfaction. Damp socks and boots weren't nearly so satisfying though.

Heavy footfalls vibrated through the floor. A few seconds later, the door swings open and the captain's face peeks through. He scans the room with distain before the little flash of green catches his eye. He grins lopsidedly. His eyes then swing towards Blondie. Blondie looks up at the captain before returning to her book. The captain tilts his head up and gives me a weird look, I stick my tongue out. The captain spots the perverted man next. He takes a huge bite out of a green apple and immediately spits it back out. "Pheeeew! These apples are sour!" he exclaims.

The captain waves his hand at us. "You four, come with me." I jammed my wet clothes in a plastic bag, slung said bag across my chest and got up to follow. Everyone else does the same.

~oOo~

Review at your convenience


	2. Really We Could have Done It Differently

We follow the captain through a maze of hallways and finally arrive at . . . the room where the helm is. Whatever it's called. The wide windows put me at ease. We line up expectantly at the back of the room with me between Blondie and the pervy old man. I pull out a comb with many gaps and start raking it through my hair.

"First, tell me your names." The captain commands.

"My name is Gon!" The little boy raises his hand high energetically. The captain nods his approval and moves on.

"It's Leorio." He says reluctantly. The captain looks at me next.

"Su." I answer simply. Satisfied, he moves on to Blondie.

"Kurapika." He states in a dignified manner. The captains nods again. His head is going to fall off his stubby neck at this rate. Kurapika's voice is too deep to belong to a girl.

"Okay, now tell me why you want to become a Hunter." The captain commands again. Nosy captain, just drive us from A to B, unless he has an ulterior motive, which he probably does, but he's currently drunk.

"Hey! If you're not an examiner, you can't boss us around!" Leorio is a freedom fighter, I see.

Gon spoke first. "My dad is a Hunter. I left Whale Islands because I want to know why my dad desired so much to be a Hunter." he says with a large sincere smile. The kid has way too much energy. A certain light flickered in the captain's eyes. He rubs his chin.

"Oi kid, you're not supposed to answer his question!" Leorio glares down at Gon.

"Huh? Why not?" Gon's innocent eyes contrast with Leorio's unfriendly ones.

"Not a team player, huh? I don't wish to reveal why I'm here." He turns away and crosses his arms. Damn pervy old dude thinks he's all that.

I look the captain in the eyeballs. "I need to become a Hunter to do what I need to do." The captain looks sceptically at me and rolls his eyes.

It is Leorio's turn to scoff. "What would a little missy like you need to do?"

"A girl needs make up, what did you think?" I demand, with mock seriousness.

"I agree with Leorio." The newly proclaimed Kurapika says. Agree with _what_? That this missy can't clobber the pervy dude with one move?

Leorio bristles "Hey! Aren't you younger than me? Show some respect!" this guy is an idiot.

Kurapika ignores him and continues, "It's quite easy to avoid pesky questions by offering a plausible lie." Well duh.

Leorio again interrupted this time angrily looking at the blonde, "Hey! Are you listening to me?" Obviously not.

Kurapika continued, again ignoring Leorio, "However, it is quite shameful to rely upon deceit. That said, if I were to tell you the truth, I would be exposing my deepest secrets. That is why I cannot provide an answer."

Stuck up brat.

Leorio began wildly pointing at the blonde, "Hey you! Don't ignore me!" Gon and I watched this entire transaction silently. Though I doubt the kid judged them the way I did.

The captain cut in, "In other words, you refuse to answer my question." He waved to a man in the back. The man grasped his clipboard keenly. "Tell the examination board that we have two more dropouts."

Kurapika and Leorio's faces reforms themselves and takes on a look of pure disbelief. It's actually quite funny.

"Don't you two get it? The Hunter Exam has already begun." the captain smirked. "There are as many Hunter wannabes as there are stars in the sky. The examiners don't have the time and resources to review them all to they hire people like us, to trim the fat." the captain's smirk grew wider with every word.

"I knew we went through that storm on purpose." I deadpan. The captain ignores me.

"I've already notified the board that everyone else had to withdraw." Kurapika and Leorio leaned forward in shock. "If they can't handle a little storm like this, they'd stand no chance in the Exam's later stages." the captain paused for effect. "In other words, you only proceed to the main exam if I pass you. So think carefully before you answer my question."

That's actually pretty smart... I pull my hair into a short ponytail and tied it with a length of ribbon.

"So he says..." Gon said wisely. Leorio looked like he wanted to strangle Gon. I would too. Except he's too cute.

"I am the last survivor of the Kurta Clan." Kurapika speaks first. I breathe sharply. "Four years ago, my clan was annihilated by a band of criminals." Blondie looked up with strong resolve, "I wish to become a Hunter and hunt down that band, the Phantom Troupe!" I flinch involuntarily at the name. News of the massacre was the talk of the town for months.

The bamboozled looks of Gon and Leorio sure are interesting.

"Ey... so you want to become a bounty hunter? The Phantom Troupe is an A-class bounty, not even the most grizzled hunters can touch them. You'll be throwing away your life." the captain turns to me. "You too, Girlie!"

"I didn't say anything." I say, evenly. He ignores me.

Kurapika places his right hand on the area where his heart is supposed to be. "I fear not death, I fear only that my rage will fade over time." he says calmly.

Leorio recovers from the shock of the information. "So... in other words, you two want revenge!"

"I'm too smart for that." I mutter.

"Does revenge require you being a Hunter?" Leorio rambled on, obnoxiously.

Kurapika closes his eyes, "That may have been the stupidest question I have ever head, Leorio."

"THAT'S LEORIO-SAN TO YOU!" he yells. Why is he so mad about that?

Kurapika ignored him, "Places accessible only to hunters... information otherwise unobtainable... actions otherwise impossible..." Leorio got madder with every phrase that came out of the younger boy's mouth.

"There are more reasons that your brain could possibly handle." the blonde finishes. Leorio's head just about flies off. I snort with laughter and the others gaze at me with blank expressions.

"Sorry,"

"Oii, what are you laughing for, dammit!" Leorio shouts and points his finger at me. That sets me off again.

"Y-you are s-such an idiot-t!" I gasp.

Gon jumps in to save the day – and my neck. He holds up his hand in front of Leorio. "Hey, why do you want to be a Hunter, Leorio-san?" Leorio looks surprised.

"Me? I'll make it short." he smiled. "I want money." Gon looks taken back.

"MONEY CAN GET YOU ANYHTING!" he explodes. He strikes a crazy pose with his thumbs and middle finger together. "A BIG HOUSE!" His body flies to the right. "A NICE CAR...!" He mimes driving. "GOOD LIQUOR!" He drinks from an imaginary bottle. "Sexy girls...~!" He traces an hourglass shape in the air.

I smack his head. "Dumbass."

"You can't buy class with money, Leorio." Kurapika calmly states. I burst out laughing.

Leorio, on the other hand, has veins popping up all over his face. "That's three times now..." he glares at the Kurta. "Step outside. I will end the filthy Kurta bloodline here and now." he hisses. Over something so petty, that was a despicable thing so say.

"Take that back, Leorio!" Kurapika's eyes snap open. Seems like he agrees. "Take that back." the blonde repeats warningly. Leorio glares sideways at Kurapika.

"That's Leorio-san to you..." then he slams the door.

Kurapika stalks out after him.

"Hey, boys, I'm not done yet!" The captain calls after them. I drop my bag on the floor.

"Well, I'm going to go mediate. Or you know, eat popcorn." I smirk. I watched a giant water twister veer closer and closer to us through the windows. "Or maybe I'll go help with that monster. That's also cool."

~oOo~

Outside, the wind is razor sharp. It cuts through the icy, pelting rain and sends it in all directions. The rain drenches my clothes, plastering them to my skin. My bangs whirled in the wind and I feel my ribbon loosening.

All around the deck, yelling and orders can be heard. I overhear something about a water twister. Crud. The two males stand on the deck, their hair and clothes whipping around in the wind. A big wave crashes onto the deck. I duck into the wall behind me and hold my breath. The two duelers stand unfazed. I wipe some of the water off my eyes and bangs but it was merely temporary relief. The two of them are ignoring everything around them, focusing only on defending their honor. How stupid, I think. If the sailors don't work quickly, we're all going to die!

"Take back what you said!" the Kurta demands. "Take back what you said and I will forgive you, Leorio!"

"How many times do I have to repeat myself?" Leorio wouldn't back down either. "You should show some respect!"

"You two!" I shout, "Do that later! We don't have the time for this!" I'm desperate now. They ignore me. I can't just leave them here, who knows what will happen? Leorio whips out his dagger, Kurapika pulls out his wooden swords. The ship is being drawn into the twister.

The ship sways dangerously.

In frozen horror, I watch the sailor with the clipboard from before lose his footing on the riggings. He manages to latch onto a rope. Unfortunately, the rope gathers momentum with his weight and sends him flying as if in slow motion over the deck, his screams lost in the wind.

Kurapika and Leorio notice Kastro's airborne body at the same time. They grab the deck railing with one hand and lean out to catch the sailor with the other. Their hands snatch at empty air.

Another airborne body casts a shadow where Kastro was a second ago. Gon wraps his arms around Katsuo's stomach tightly. Kurapika and Leorio reach out for Gon's legs, their eyes wide and panicked. Time seems to stop. Their hands close around where skinny legs were too late. Blood pounds in my ears.

I sprint over to them and take a flying leap. "Catch me!" I scream. I latch myself onto Gon and prayed the idiots could at least manage to catch the girl. Freezing cold water enveloped me and all I held onto.

~oOo~

I sit down on the deck and wring salty water out of my hair and clothes with Gon. Two shadows loom over us.

"You idiot!" Leorio shouts, "If Su didn't catch you, you would be shark bait by now! And you," Leorio whirls around, "If we hadn't grabbed your legs, you would be dead too!"

"Honestly, how reckless can you two get?" The blonde adds, condescendingly.

"But you_ did_ catch her!" Gon says, happily, tipping the water out of his boots.

"Yeah, you _did _catch me!" I echo, with a wide smile.

"Huh?" The older teens say.

"You both caught her!" Gon says.

"Yeah, you both caught me!" I second.

"Well... I guess so?" Leorio has this ridiculous dumbfounded look on his face. Kurapika doesn't say anything.

"Gon!" Katsuo calls, running up to us. Gon stands up,

"Katsuo-san!"

"Thank you, Gon! You saved my life." Katsuo says.

"No, I couldn't have done it without them, they saved me too!" Gon gestures to us. Cheesy much though much sincere.

Leorio blushes and says that he's glad he's okay. Kurapika closes his eyes and says, from his place on a very high horse, that Kastro doesn't need to thank him. I just smile. Katsuo thanks us again and again before getting called back to work.

"Now you two," I put one hand on Kurapika's shoulder and the other on the older teen's, "make up time~" they look surprised. They look at each other and then away. The blonde smiles a little which makes the older of the two look at him suspiciously.

"Sorry for my rude behavior, Leorio-san." Kurapika apologizes with a smile. Leorio looks shocked, then his face softens into a smile. He rubs the back of his head bashfully.

"Actually, I take back everything I said," He says, "and just call me Leorio, we sound like strangers." he looks away at this point. They both smile.

"There! That's better~!" I sing. Honestly, this scene makes me cringe... 'Sorry for my rude behavior'…wince, 'Leorio-san'… ugh. A door bangs open and the captain's hairy face appears. He took a large swing from the bottle of alcohol he held and breathes out heavily.

"I like you guys!" he shouts, "I'll take full responsibility of taking the four of you to the port of Doles!"

We all look dumbfounded. This was the sadistic drunkard captain from the room-with-the-helm?

"Huh?" I wonder aloud.

"What about the test?" Kurapika continues for me.

The captain grins widely, in a way it's creepy but he a nice guy. "It's up to me remember? The four of you pass!" he laughs loudly and heads back inside with another bang.

As soon as the news sinks into our think heads, we all break into huge smiles. Leorio's one was rather perverted for an unknown reason.

"YAY!" Gon cheers.

"YAAHOOOOO!" I jump into the air and get Gon in a head lock. The older teens just look at us and smile. I grab the Kurta's wrist and drag him into the fray. Gon grabs Leorio and he's stuck with us too. They both looked surprised at first but smiled again in a few seconds.

End result? I had Gon in a head lock, and my other arm was wrapped around the older blonde's neck. Gon's head was stuck in my right arm and one of his hands grabbing at the collar of Leorio's suit. We were all ginning like idiots. Kurapika was blushing. I would later find out my wet shirt was showing the outline of my bra.

~oOo~


	3. Guys Like You

"Bye, captain!" I said as I landed from my backflip off the railings of the ship. A chorus of thanks could be heard from the gangplank, where gruff Leorio and formal Kurapika were stepping off, like the normal people they are.

Oh! Sweet, steady, unmoving ground! How I loved to be rid of the hateful swaying motion of the ship. I breathed in deeply – fresh air, salty but fresh air all the same. We were all waiting for the fourth member of our motley crew, Gon, who was currently receiving words of wisdom from the mouth of our glorious Captain. Finally, the aforementioned captain straightened, and waved at our Gon, who was doing screw jumps as he waved his arms in the air, calling, "Bye, captain! See you later!

We started down the trail to the centre of the town of Doles. Leorio was the only one who knew where the exam was held. He was boastful about it, honestly, such a simpleton. Going straight to Zaban City and wandering around for snatches of conversations is too unreliable, not to mention easy. No, the location of the Exam must be passed from ear to be confidential and not at all through public transportation.

Gon had not exchanged many words with me but we seemed to have developed a bond after nearly drowning together. Kurapika was a solo artist who did not speak much in general whilst Leorio had something to say about everything. I was reserved but I thought the blonde's quiet calm quite comforting.

We arrived at a giant map of the town. The older man efficiently began pointing out the different bus routes we could take to get to Zaban City. "I'm going to the cedar tree." Gon stated. Leorio peered down at the child over his round sunglasses. Said child leaned forward and balanced on his heel, grinning adorably up at Leorio, who told him exactly what he thought of going to 'a godforsaken tree' miles and miles out of our way. A man of his own mind and will, truly a freedom fighter. . .

"The captain told me to go to the cedar tree," Gon said, "I'm going to go to the cedar tree, we don't have any reason to doubt the captain."

"Gon, are you sure you heard right?" asked the ever logical Kurapika. The boy nodded his affirmative.

"You guys are crazy," Leorio yelled, "I'm going to go that way, it was nice knowing you guys." He waved and headed off away from us. He looked back. "What? Kurapika? Su?"

Kurpaika shook his head, "I'm more curious about Gon than I am of the tip." And with that he followed Gon. Leorio looked at me. It wasn't anything personal but Leorio is quite easily swayed and too nice to doubt. Going away from all civilisation to stake out a random tree didn't seem such a logical reason either. Oh the other hand, if I go with Leorio I would have to board a bus, or at least some mode of transport. If I follow Gon, I would be walking through a forest.

"Leorio, I hate transportation, so I'm going to wing it with Gon," I said, "It was fun meeting you."

Leorio rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever, take care."

And then there were four . . .

~oOo~

We trekked silently up the hill. Leorio was hardly the flower in our garden of thorns but it was awfully quiet without his boisterous complaints. A soft breeze swept through the air, carrying scents of damp earth and plants. I inhaled deeply. It was comforting to have a little bit of home. The sky was a cloudless blue, the sunshine warm and gentle and the trail lined with flowers lulled us into a comfortable silence.

But not enough for me to miss the presence following us. I shot a sidelong glance at Kurapika, who caught my eye and nodded. My hand traced the hilt of my twin scythes at my hip. Kurapika put a warning hand on my arm. Startled, I jerked away. "S-sorry." I said, softly. I felt guilty, the older teen meant well but I was too sensitive. The trail had widened into a grassy clearing.

A greyish brown rhino was chewing grass and eyeing us warily. With Gon as out leader, we walked slowly along the edge of the clearing, watching as the Rhino stiffened. Far too conscious of the blonde's presence, I shuffled away from him as I walked and closer to the rhino. The Rhino became agitated. Gon walked up to it. "Hey, Mr Rhino," He said, slowly raising his hand to stroke its horn, "we don't want to hurt you, we just want to pass through." The rhino visibly relaxed. Faint vibrations in the ground jolted us. It got heavier and heavier before the blue figure of Leorio could be seen charging up the track.

"Holy shit, guys!" He yelled, when he reached us "There's a bloomin' monster!" The idiot flicked out his knife and threw it at the rhino. The poor thing freaked out so much it charged at Leorio. Not that I blame it - I would too. The rhino chased him round and round before he clambered up a tree in sheer desperation. Kurapika sighed and dragged his hand down his face. Gon rushed to soothe the traumatised rhino. The boy had an amazing skill with animals.

Crazy but well-meaning Leorio doing idiotic but well-meaning things. And despite myself, I smiled.

~oOo~

A loud crash thundered behind us, followed by a flow of experienced swearing. A man in a pale blue shirt crawled out of the bushes, nursing the bump on his head. "Ouch," he grumbled, "hey guys, some help? I think I twisted my ankle." Gon, being the loving, gullible guy he is, spun right around and went to help the man up. "Thanks, dude," the man said, "the name's Matthew."

Gon probably knew Matthew was following us but he probably thought he had good reasons for keeping hidden because he didn't mention it once, and was even giving him a piggy-back. A piggy-back! He was a grown man, twisted ankle or not!

Me, on the other hand was not nearly so trusting. He had preferred sneaking behind us to simply walking behind us. He had the air of someone who thought they were much better than another, speaking to me and Kurapika with a pacifying tone. With Gon, not much better but seeing as he was the kid's mercy… He seemed to respect Leorio, but the formal attire may have helped. I could tell the blonde at my side didn't trust our new buddy either.

The trail widened into yet another clearing. This clearing was studded with neat rows of messy houses. It had a ghost town kind of feeling about it. Tumbleweed rolled past casually as we surveyed the seemingly empty town. The rustling of a thousand skirts and shuffling feet could be faintly heard.

"What? An empty town?" Leorio said, confidently, "Guys, let's get this over with."

"I can hear them breathing." The boy in green said softly, setting his baggage (Matthew) down. Listening to them breathe… just a tad bit creepy there, kiddo.

"I hear fabrics moving." Kurapika stated, and looked at Leorio like, how much more obvious could it be?

I put forth my observation: "Feet moving, we're being watched." Matthew chimed in with a boisterous "Yeah, yeah!" The eldest of us looked at us like we were freaks. Ahh simple, open book Leorio. We just had heightened senses, you ordinary human.

The rustling of fabrics increased in volume as masked figures glided from alleys into the street, a hunched figure on a float in the middle of them. "The exciting…" she whispered, her face shadowed by her hood, "the exciting…"

"The exciting…?" we echoed her, confused and wary.

"THE EXCITING TWO CHOICE QUIZ!" The figure screamed, throwing her hood back violently to reveal a shrunken old woman. We stared her like she sprouted three heads. "Now . . . who would like to go first?" We stared back blankly.

Well basically it was a hit-and-run test. We have five seconds to give either the answer 'one' or 'two' and if we mess this up we're out of the Exam. It seemed simple enough, I had a lot of useless general knowledge stored up.

"So if one of them gets it wrong, I fail too?" Leorio asked, pointing at us. I felt my blood bubbling, the chances of Loudmouth Leorio crapping up were much more favourable.

"As if that would happen," Kurapika huffed. Yeah, you tell it like it is Blondie!

"What did you –!" The former started.

"But you know," Gon interrupted, "that would mean only one of us has to know the answer, right? I'm not so good at quizzes… you see." There was a general hum of agreement, it was a good system. Then there as the off chance that none of us knew the answer.

Matthew, who had been silently watching our strange exchange, piped up. "I want to go first. I would hate to be dragged down by them." Huh, true colours.

My hand inched towards my scythes while Leorio yelled at Matthew. Who, had just carried you up a freaking mountain, sneaky two-faced little…? I thought. I felt Kurapika's hand on my arm and let my hand fall back to my side. Having someone go first to gauge the test will be helpful anyway. The older teen was logical and thoughtful, I chose to trust him.

"Well, then, step forward, young man." The old woman's voice cut through. "Here is your question: evil villains have captured your mother and your lover. You can only save one. Select one for your mother and two for our lover. Who will you save?"

I frowned. What kind of heartless question was that? Leorio began delivering his opinion of the test immediately. The woman began counting down. Who would I choose? Probably my non-existent lover, seeing as my mother is out of the picture but I doubt that's what they're looking for.

"One," Matthew said, confidently. The old woman raised her eyebrows.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Because you can never replace your mother, but you can always get another lover." He said, smiling. Well guess who I'm never dating . . . if you can replace your lover you probably never loved her anyway. He definitely failed.

"You may pass," the old woman and masked figures moved aside. What the hell?

"That's bull!" Cried Leorio, "How is that the right answer? We're supposed to say what the old lady wants to hear? And it's considered correct? I'm not hanging around for this shit!" He whirled around and stomped away two steps before the old lady demanded his return. We can't even leave, unless we wanted to get automatically disqualified.

"That's ridiculous!" Leorio exploded in rage. "Different people would expect different answers! There _is no_ right answer!" And the man has my full agreement.

"No real answer…"Kurapika said, under his breath, one hand rested on his chin thoughtfully. "I got it!" He exclaims, "Leorio, t-"

"Ah, not another word from you, boy!" The old woman cut in. "If you attempt to speak again you will be disqualified. The old biddy's just making up rules as she goes . . . it seems the blondie figured it out, but what exactly?

"Here is your question: your son and daughter have been kidnapped. Select one for your son, and two for your daughter." A question as cruel as the last. Who would I rescue? Say I had no children, or two daughters? Wouldn't they have been kidnapped by the same organisation and thus kept _together_ so I could save them _both_?

"Five."

No, she couldn't possibly know what children I were to have. It was from point blank, it must rely on common sense.

"Four."

Leorio walked over to a pile of scrap metal and chose a pipe, hefting it in his hand. Common sense . . . but I have to choose one . . .

"Three."

The son or the daughter? The boy or the girl? Leorio was walking back to us, brandishing the iron pipe threateningly.

"Two."

But Kurapika figured it out? From what? _There is no right answer! _There is no right answer. Neither boy nor girl. Select one or two, but what do I select for neither?

"One." Oh my lord, you just had to shut up for nothing! I slapped a hand over my mouth for fear of blurting out my discovery and screwing our chances. I wonder if Gon knew, Leorio didn't.

"Time's up."

Which was why he charged and took a flying leap and swung the iron pipe down on the old woman, who stood there unfazed, as if people bashed her head in on a daily basis. Though when I thought about it, it would explain an awful lot.

I dashed in front of the old woman and used the chain connecting my scythes to block the pipe. But it wasn't enough, the pipe had all of the brunette's brute strength behind it. I felt Kurapika's body behind mine, and the weight lifting of my heart. Hahaha, just kidding, I felt the weight lifting off my scythes because he was supporting me with his wooden swords. "Don't stop me Kurapika, Su, I won't be satisfied until I've taught this old hag a lesson!"

"It's Risumi," I said, through gritted teeth.

"Calm down, Leorio!" Kurapika shouted.

"How can I calm down?" Leorio fired back. "Then why did you say your name was Su?"

"You'll waste our correct response!"

"It's short for Risumi!"

"Our correct response?" Leorio asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, the correct response was silence."

"Oh, my. Then what about the guy from before?"

"Heard 'im scream," I drawled.

"She never said he answered correctly, that was the wrong path." The blonde said, softly.

"She sent 'im along the road of death," I added. Kurapika gave me a strange look, I smiled sheepishly.

"You kids are sharp, the correct path is through here," the old woman gestured to two slabs of metal in the rock wall of one of the houses. She kicked one of the slabs. Oh, it's a door.

"So… what happened to the other guy?" Leorio wondered, aloud. The old woman smirked.

"Heh, the girl's right, monsters roam the streets, but they stay away from me."

"Old lady, I'm sorry about my earlier actions." Leorio said, bowing low and respectfully.

"Heh, don't worry about it," the old woman waved it off, "I do this to meet guys-"

Oh, my.

"-like you. Have fun in the Exam."

We had bid the woman goodbye and stepped into the tunnel when we realised the fourth of our party wasn't with us. "What if it really happens," Gon wondered, "which one would I save?" Kurapika smiled.

". . . You're still at it, Gon?" Leorio said.

"Don't worry, kiddo," I said, patting him on the shoulder, "I'll get one while you get the other." I watched as the child's face split into an adorable grin. Now that sounded a tad psychotic.

The old woman cackled, "Okay, folks," she said, "it'll take two hours to reach the end of the tunnel, after that follow the road until you get to a wooden cabin. The couple there will guide you to the Exam site." she instructed, "hopefully . . ." she added under her breath.

~oOo~

_Whoa, reviews, views! I finally know what traffic graphs are. _

_Liz (guest) - Thank you!_

_MaoisSleepy - Glad you like it. Doesn't hold a candle to Spirit raven, though. That one was tops. (Y) _


	4. Bubblegum

Leorio's mouth did not seem to have a pause function.

"I'm cold."

"It's dark."

"How long do you think the tunnel is?"

"I'm bored."

"I'm thirsty."

"I need to pee." He whined. And I couldn't disagree. It's been ages since I last went. The strap from my bag was digging painfully into my shoulder, I don't know how Kurapika does it. His bag is similar to mine and he hasn't even switched the weight to his other shoulder. I pulled out my fourth lollipop and jammed it in my mouth. Mmm strawberry~ I waved one at Gon and the kid gladly accepted it.

"Hey, Risumi-chan, you got these at Whale Island!" His brown eyes widen in realisation.

"What?" I said absentmindedly.

"I know the lady who makes these!"

"Oh, she make these too?" I asked, pulling bags and bags of candy. Three heads swivel in my direction. "What?" I ask defensively.

"Yeah, she made those too," said Gon, recovering fast. "Isn't she great?" I nodded enthusiastically. The blonde turned away looking sick. Who gets sick by the sight of _candy_? The stuff is magic.

"Mind your teeth, missy," Leorio criticised. I waved one in his face by way of offering. The man caught it in his teeth. Okay, I didn't expect that. Silence lapsed again, save for the occasional (often) crinkling of lolly wrappers from my direction, and Gon's, I swear.

"Oh, stupid old woman!" Leorio shouted, "It was two hours _two hours ago_!" and again, I couldn't disagree. I think Leorio is very open with his thoughts, unlike Kurapika who is introverted and Gon who only says nice things. The dark tunnel felt eternally cruel and endless. We'd been walking for some time but no one had thought to bring a watch.

I wonder who invented candy, was it an accident? The candy on Whale Island was the first I had since I was a kid and it wasted like such magic I bought more than I could afford on everything; lollipops, gum, fruit flavoured, cola flavoured, caramel, butterscotch, marshmallows, gummy bears, chocolate, pocky, you name it. Sweet heaven. How could anything on earth beat this? I like books, have heaps of them back at the dojo. None of the heroines had a mad crave for sugary treats, hahaha, maybe I'm just not that kind of girl hmm? Whatever, ice cream… Del better remember to stock the ice cream, Nicky eats way too much of the strawberry flavour for a guy. I gazed dreamily at the darkness in stretched out in front of us.

"Rusimi!" Kurapika called, looking annoyed.

"Yeah, what?"

"I've been calling you for ages, are you okay?" His eyes softened into concern.

"Yeah." I didn't tell him what I had been daydreaming about…

"May I ask what kind of weapon you're carrying?" The blonde reverted back to formal. Isn't it tiring to talk like that?

"Hmm? Scythes," I replied, "bribed a blacksmith near home to make it." He gave me a strange look. The scythes were in holsters on either side of my hip, connected by a chain that bounced on my butt when I walked, as Gon had so helpfully pointed out.

"Why not get big scythes?" He wondered.

"Harder to control, and harder to carry," I reasoned, "I'll have to worry more about cutting myself than my opponents. Where do you keep your swords anyway?" Kurapika lifted the back of his tabard, where a pair of wooden swords were strapped in response. Aren't they heavy? How can he not choke? Silence washed over us once again. I moved onto a packet of grape flavoured gum. There were instructions on the back about blowing bubbles. I folded the gum over my tongue and succeeded in chocking.

"What the heck are you doing, you idiot?" Leorio asked, as he slapped me across the back.

"Are you okay, nee-chan?" Gon gazed at me with wide, innocent eyes. I nodded, coughing, as Kurpaika rolled his eyes at me. After a while, I had the gum wrapped around my tongue but when I blew the purple gum went flying out of my mouth.

"Oh, so that's what you chocked on."

~oOo~

Finally, my breath expanded the blob of gum, I kept blowing and blowing, until I had stretched the rubber to its limit. It exploded in my face. The scent of grapes filled the air. "What?" I asked, affronted, at the people staring at me.

"Nee-chan, your face is purple." Gon said, matter-of-factly.

"Thanks," I said, dryly, as I peeled purple off my face.

"Are you okay, Risumi-san?" Kurapika asked. What a considerate guy. "In terms of mentality?" Hmm… maybe not…

I glared at him. "Lose the -san. And yes, my brain is fine." Said brain did a zoom-in of his face as he leaned in.

"You have more," he said, "stuck in your hair." His breath brushed my cheek as he peeled a piece of gum off my hair. My brain reeled from the close proximity, my body took two steps back.

"I know!" I protested.

"Nee-chan, your face is red now!" Gon said, happily. Thanks, your live broadcast of my blushing makes me extremely grateful. Leorio grinned.

~oOo~

"Look," Gon shouted, "I see light!"

We poured on the speed for the last stretch of tunnel and burst out of the gloom into . . . more gloom. It was already evening. We were in that godforsaken tunnel for a minimum of four hours. Crazy old lady, two hours my ass. I smacked Leorio upside the head to shut him up. He wasn't the only pissed about losing so much time in a concrete cylinder.

A long, muddy track winded its way up the mountain. Cold wind whipped at our clothes and I drew cloak tighter around my body. I couldn't help but replay the close-up of Kurapika's face. The four of us hurried along the path. A sign saying 'Beware of Magical Monsters' leered at us. Magical Monsters sound kind of cute. What is there to even beware of? Do they even exist? So vague . . . .

Kurapika's hair isn't vague. The pale blonde, highlighted by the moonlight, gleamed. This guy has nicer hair than I do. My hair's all black and boring and bluntly cropped.

The same message was stamped into nature in several more ways. Scratched into rocks and traced into dirt, hung from and nailed into trees. "Sheesh, this is creepy." Leorio shivered. No, not creepy, it was stupid. Who were they trying to psych with a billion signs saying the same lame thing? Oh yeah, Leorio.

Our strange quartet reached a wooden cabin bordered by trees. This must be where the couple lived. Now this was creepy – everything had become still, even the wind. Nothing moved as if nothing breathed. There were no lights on in the cabin, did they even exist? The others climbed tentatively up the wonky stairs and I followed a few steps behind, because if it was rigged they'd hit it first.

Leorio knocked, "Hello, anybody home?" We were greeted with silence. This is creepy, people are supposed to live here and there ain't no sign of livin'. Nerves taught and body freezing, I jerked my leg back and kicked the door open.

"Risumi, that's rude." Kurapika scolded. We caught someone in a kidnapping act. A fox-like monster loomed over the body of a male and carried a female in its jaw. The man was bleeding and the woman knocked out. Furniture broken and red stained the floor. There had obviously been a struggle. "Mue-hue-mue-hue," it laughed, pushing past us.

"M-my wife," the bleeding man groaned, "save my wife!" he pleaded. This seemed to snap everybody out of their trances. Leorio dashed to the man's side and flipped open his briefcase.

"I'll take care of things here, you guys go after the monster!" He commanded. We obeyed. We dropped out bags on the floor and ran after the general direction of the monster.

"This way," Gon said, his eyes keenly searching the expanse of darkness before us. I could see it without straining my eyes but Kurapika looked at Gon, impressed. I ran up a tree and tracked it from above, ignoring the fact that I was wearing a skirt which was literally held down by the chain bouncing on my butt. Gon leaped up beside me. "He-he, I have an idea," he grinned, mischievously. By now we were almost on top of the animal Kurapika defined as a Kirriko. "Hey, Kirriko!" Gon shouted, as he took a flying leap and smashed his fishing pole on its head. Seriously, kid, I thought, that's your grand plan?

But to everyone's surprise, the Kirriko let out a surprised yelp and clutched at its head, "Crazy kid!" The lady fell out of its arms, screaming hysterically. Kurapika dived and caught her in his arms. Good going, blondie!

"It talks!" Gon yelled, "It talks!"

"Yeah, that's why it's called a magical monster." Kurapika said through gritted teeth.

I kept running after the Kirriko, Gon caught up at my heels. When I got close enough I flung one of my scythes at it, holding onto the other one so the first would return. The sound of the blade whirring through the air may have been slightly too loud, because the Kirriko ducked and all I cut were a few strands of its fur.

The dense foliage of the forest rushed past in blurs of green and brown.

Somehow while we were leaping across branches we ended up climbing even higher. Maybe 20 metres or so . . . I sprinted to catch up with the animal so that I was slightly ahead of it – and jumped, landing awkwardly on its back.

The Kirriko shook its head madly to dislodge me from its neck. "Stupid girl!" It growled. The beast jumped erratically to try shake me off, but my arms didn't go through all that training for nothing!

"You ha – a – ave nice f-f-uuurrrr." My voice bounced every time the beast jumped off a branch

"Get offa me, crazy woman!" The animal yelled.

"Nnaww," I drawled.

Suddenly, it did a backflip of some sort and my world whirred and blurred. I felt my hands lubricate with sweat and my grip loosened. Wind roared past my ears, my hair and clothes streamed out vertically in front of me.

Oh. My. God.

~oOo~


	5. When You Miss That Step on the Stairs

"_Oh. My. God."_

~oOo~

I let out a scream full of terror. Eyes wide and fearful. My hands and legs flailing. I felt my body gathering speed. A branch whizzed past my head. It's funny, when you've lived half your life in a forest, it seems only right for you to die in it too.

My mind became a blank expanse of white.

I screamed again. Long and shrill, tearing at my throat. I fell faster.

Something strong wrapped around me and I slammed into something soft, knocking us in another direction in a tangle of arms and legs. I caught snatches of incoherent colours through my kaleidoscope vision.

We skidded to a stop. I gasped at the air. My heart pounded. My eyes watered from the stinging rush of wind – and the fact I had stopped blinking.

I was lying on my back, my chest heaving. Someone had their arm draped across my shoulders. Stiffly, I turned my head left, following it. I stared into the face-down profile of Kurapika, his dishevelled hair falling into his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, softly, directing his gaze sideways at me.

"Y-yeah . . ." I replied, my voice shaky and dry.

He struggled to his feet and dusted himself off as if he wasn't just hit by a 15 year old girl falling like a rock. His hair had lost its lustre under a layer of dirt, his skin scratched and bruised, his clothes tattered with grime. I doubt I fared much better.

I move my limbs one at a time to make sure they were attached properly. I couldn't feel my left wrist, which is red and swollen but honestly things could be much worse . . .

I climb unsteadily to me feet. Breathing a sigh of relief I could hardly believe, I run a hand through my short hair and survey my own damage. My pink top had a split down the back from the neck, widening the V-neck even further. Sexy. My wrist was at best sprained but otherwise fine.

"You were lucky to not have hit branches on the way down." Kurapika said quietly, "On the other hand, they would have been good if…" He trailed off. The branches would have broken my fall, or I could have hold on and dislocate my shoulders but as my far as my luck went, I had an empty drop.

"Thank you," I said, "for saving me." I stare at the ground awkwardly. It's a nice piece of ground.

"It was nothing." He replied, "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, everything seems to work." I double check. I might have left a finger up there or something.

"We need to go back." Kurapika said, warily. "Before I heard you scream, a Kirriko pretended to be Leorio." He reported. "So I punched him in the face."

"Whoa . . . efficient." I winced. That one must have been played the wounded husband . . .

"The wife . . . no, she turned out to be a Kirriko, too. My hypothesis is that all the Kirriko can transform into a human appearance, and they are testing us with this."

Great, I'm definitely failing this test then. All I did was almost get killed and I'm not sure I get points for that. "The Kirriko playing wife, is she still after you?"

"I didn't have a chance to disable her."

As if on cue, which I later found out that it actually was, a Kirriko snickered from behind a tree behind us. Kurapika instantly had his swords in his hands and moved into a defensive stance. Upon grabbing the scythes at my hip I was reminded of the immobility of my left hand. I held both blades in my good hand, wrapping the connecting chain around the wrist.

The Kirriko ran at us, claws poised. I ran forward and with one fluid movement of my wrist I sliced off its claws on both hands. "You witch!" It screamed, "It'll take me forever to grow them back!" I dodged to the side, leaving it to Kurapika. Wait a second…

"Kurapika, you said you knocked out the Leorio-Kirriko!" I shouted over the sound of their fighting. The blonde ducked as the Kirriko swiped at where his face had been seconds ago. The beast attacked with twice the vigour.

"I did!" He grunted through clenched teeth, his swords blocking another blow, the furry thing bearing down on him. I ran up behind the Kirriko and swung my leg back for the ultimate attack – between the Kirriko's legs.

"Owwie!" He squealed and crumpled to the ground, clutching his jewels. Kurapika winces.

"There was no need for that kind of violence." He said, reproachful. Yeah that was kind of a low blow but it got the job done, didn't it?

"Don't worry, I won't do that to you," I said reassuringly, but perhaps not reassuring enough because he glanced back at the whimpering Kirriko and winces again. I twirled my right hand in a clockwise direction to let the chain slip off. I slotted one into its scabbard but the left one was on the other side of my body so naturally I got my whole right arm tangled in it.

"Here," Kurapika said, sidling up to me, "let me help." His hands were gentle as they unwrapped the chain from my arm and part of my shirt, carefully navigating around the blade attached.

"He was the husband." I said, turning my head to the side to look behind me. Kurapika looked at me funny, not understanding. "Same voice, but . . . deeper?" I added.

"They all sound the same," he frowned, "did you knock your head when you fell?" I stuck my tongue out.

"Can't you hear it?" I asked, disbelieving and quite disgruntled he implied I went loony. I feel the satisfying weight of the second scythe slipping into its scabbard.

"I can't." He said. His steps back to admire his handiwork.

"Thanks," I trailed off, unsure. I stared at the ground at my feet. It's some nice ground. Believe me, I've seen a lot of ground.

"Geheheh." The Kirriko laugh from his position on the ground. We whirl around and back up. "The girl's correct, how about you guys help me back to the cabin, we'll explain there." His gaze trails from our faces down to my boot, and visibly winces. Looks like I hit a pretty sensitive spot, then.

"Ice?" I offered.


	6. Judgement Day

"Hey, sweetheart!" a gruff and thick voice shouted, "Come out here, you're gonna love this!"

"Over here!" A shrill and thick voice shouted back, separated by maybe two kilometres. Those are some serious lungs. What did she mean by 'over here'? She made it seem like whole giant ass forest was as if another room?

"Mother you're gonna love this too!" Our Leorio Kirriko added his two cents.

Leorio, Gon and the other Kirrikos were already waiting when we got there. The Leorio Kirriko quickly went to join then, but not before changing back into his natural human form with a series of crunching and squishing sounds. So that's the sound of changing your entire body structure…

Guess this is where we meet fate, how were they gauging our abilities? I wonder if anything good came out of that near-death experience…

~oOo~

"How many years has it been since someone could tell us apart?" The male Kirriko wondered, "And suddenly, two at once!"

"I'm ecstatic!" The female laughed. Kurapika and Leorio just stared.

"Can you tell the difference between their voices?" Leorio whispered to Kurapika, who shook his head.

"You see, the one Kurapika and I beat up is the husband." Gon explained, overhearing them. Honey, Kurapika didn't touch it that one. Kurapika and Leorio's faces screamed, which one? So I helpfully pointed at the Kirriko on the left.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." He said. "We are the Navigators. Our family has been helping the Association for some time now."

"I'm their daughter." The woman said, happily.

"And I'm their son." The man added. That makes sense.

"Man, you had us fooled." Leorio grumbled. I agree, but it was cleverly staged. I wonder what they used for the blood. Does it come off? It would definitely come in handy.

"The Hunter Exam site changes every year." Daddy Kirriko said. "It's quite difficult to locate it."

"So our job as the Navigators is to guide the applicants to the site." Mummy Kirriko explained.

"But we don't help every candidate." Warned the Daughter Kirriko.

"We test the applicants to see if they're qualified to take the Exam." The Son Kirriko explained. We held our breath. Blood rushed in my ears with the possibility that I would not make it.

"Kurapika-dono." The Daughter Kirriko called out.

"Yes?" Kurapika said, straightening his back.

"You successfully use the vaguest hints to understand we aren't spouses." She pulled up her sleeve, letting the tattoo speak for itself. "In this region, these tattoos mark a woman as wife of God. By knowing such an uncommon fact, you showed us you are well-informed and knowledgeable. Your saving Risumi-san is also commendable. Therefore you pass." She smiled. The blonde beside me fist bumped with Gon. It's amazing how Gon can be so happy about someone else's success when he still has a chance of failure. So pure hearted.

"Gon-dono." The mother called.

"Yes." The boy chirped.

"Your superhuman physical abilities in tracking and your keen senses make you worthy to take the Hunter Exam, you also pass." She said, smiling. Gon cheered and fist bumped everyone, even me.

I glanced quickly at Leorio. He was positively freaking out. His forehead was shiny with sweat and at the rate his foot tapped the ground he might drill a hole. He stared fixedly ahead at a tree.

"Leorio-dono." Daddy Kirriko said. Leorio stiffened and narrowed his gaze at the tree. "You may not have realised my true identity," Leorio swallowed nosily, "but you showed you are very educated in medicine and first aid. You dressed my wounds faster than any doctor and you kept reassuring me about my wife." Leorio's body relaxed so much his legs went slack. He blushed on the ground and fidgeted with his sunglasses, smiling goofily. "Your kindness makes you worthy to take the Hunter Exam." Leorio fist pumped the air with a happy grunt.

My fingers were drumming dents into my arm. When I noticed, I stopped drumming and ran a hand through my hair. Then I wiped my sweaty palms on my short skirt. The muscles in my lower back were tense.

"And finally, Risumi-dono." Son Kirriko said. I twisted the hem of my skirt. "Your senses are even sharper than Gon's, your eyesight in particular, and your athletic abilities are on par. I wonder where you grew up." He laughed. "You fell from almost 20 metres but you had the courage to keep going. You also have a hard knee . . ." he trailed off. I felt the others staring at me. "You pass." The relief that coursed through me was so strong I felt laughter bubbling up.

I succumbed to it. I was so relieved. I'd put off taking the Exam for so long with so many excuses that failing so early in the process would definitely be a sign from above – stop, Risumi Kanata, you'll never make it.

"So," said Leorio, when I finally stopped laughing, "What was it about Kurapika saving you, hmm?" Gon nodded.

"I fell," I said.

"From 20 metres high, right?" Leorio said. If you knew, then why did you ask? "Gee, Kurapika, you're a hero!" He danced around the blonde who looked slightly irritated. "Risumi-chan, when he caught you, did he catch your heart as well?" Leorio ruffled Kurapika's blonde hair cheerfully. The blonde himself attempted unsuccessfully to escape the older man's headlock. I blushed furiously and stared at the ground.

"Thank you for catching me." I said stiffly to Kurapika.

"You're welcome." He sounded just as uncomfortable. A moment of awkward silence followed. Oh my gosh, this didn't need to happen what did you do Leorio you idiot?

"But hey, aren't you lucky he caught you?" Gon piped up.

"Yeah," I said. You don't say!

Father Kirriko stepped forward. "Okay, you guys. The Exam will begin midmorning so if we leave now we'll get there with a little time to spare. One of us will stay behind to hold the fort but Risumi-chan is so small she could share with Gon, right?" He laughed. Share? Share what?

As it turns out, we're riding Kirrikos to the Exam. Leorio and Kurapika each hold on tight to the feet of the son and daughter Kirrkos while Gon and I each grip a foot of the Daddy Kirriko. This has got to be one of the weirdest things I've ever done. They have leathery bat-like wings that fold out from under their arms. How convenient.

The wind swept my hair back from my face. I laughed at Gon's extended reaction to being up so high. Below us the landscape slowly transformed from dark forests to a blanket of city lights. So many lights! I've never seen so many before, it's so pretty. Even this late at night it was so alive.

"Whoa, we passed, isn't it great?" Leorio deep voice cheered from my left. A curt, softer voice reprimanded him.

"This is nothing to celebrate about, we merely earned the right to take the Exam."

"Jeez, can't you just loosen up a little?" Leorio bristled. I laughed. Well, neither of you are wrong, pipe down, I thought. This _is_ a good development and we _should_ celebrate but if the preliminary was so hard I can't even imagine what the actual exam will be like. No use worrying about it now, I suppose.

I fell asleep, once again holding tight to something far off the ground, as we bobbed through the night.

~oOo~


	7. Six Feet Under, Painfully So

"-mi."

"Risumi?"

"Risumi!" Someone shouted.

"Uhh?" I mumbled blearily. I rubbed at my eyes with the back of my hand as the other held on to . . . a furry . . . leg? Oh, right. Kirriko. Flying. Yeah. We were bobbing lopsidedly through the air, me weighting him down because Gon was already on the ground.

Stifling a yawn, I let myself fall to the ground. "Thanks for taking us!" I call up to them. Two Kirrikos flew away into the crisp morning air, leaving the Brother Kirriko in human form to guide us to the Exam site. His clothing is kind of American-Indian, complete with a feather sticking out of his headband.

Zaban City is chaotic, there's no other word for it. The streets we navigated were clogged with people and lined with shops selling everything from jewellery to bananas. "Oh, excuse me." I said, trying to fit through a gap in the crowd. Someone's heavy boot thumped down on my foot and I hissed through my teeth. "Excuse me sir, could you let me by?" I asked a man who stood in my way, yapping on his cell phone. He barely spared me a glance. Bodies pressed in on all sides. Fine, if this is how you want to play it, fine.

I elbowed the man and slipped past him and nudged the next one at an angle so I could fit through. But there were so many people and not enough space. How did the others get past? Where _are_ the others? I stood up on my tippy-toes in time to see Leorio's spiky brown hair bob further into the crowd. Argh.

"Risumi!" Kurapika's voice. Front and left. I elbowed my way in that direction until I saw his blonde head, glancing every which way.

"Kurapika!" I called, reaching out my hand. His head whipped in my direction. He grabbed my hand and hauled me through what seemed like a conga line. "Oh, gee. Thanks." I said, breathing heavily.

"Try to keep up, will you?" He said as he pulled me along with him.

"I'm not good with crowds." I mumbled. So claustrophobic. My height certainly doesn't help.

"Kurapika, Risumi!" Leorio yelled. I saw his brown hair sticking out of the crowd, turning left and right like a periscope in a submarine. Height advantage right there.

"Over here." Kurapika called. He's elbowing too, I see. He's just better at it. Leorio grabs Kurapika's arm and drags us out into a considerably thinner crowd. What are they selling over there to make so many people congregate, I wonder.

"Jeez, you two are hopeless." Leorio scolds. Gon smiles angelically up at me. I run my hand down my face and try to catch my breath.

"Risumi is the one who got lost." Kurapika grumbles.

"I wasn't lost, it's a straight road." I said crossly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Leorio said, offhandedly. "Let's just get going." We followed our Kirriko guide the rest of the way. The shops are cheaper here, not as impressive but still awfully nice to my virgin eyes. Gon picked up a weird green fruit and stared at it, puzzled, until Leorio dragged him away. Racks and racks of jewellery sparkle in the sunlight. I stared at them as I pass and zone in on key-shaped pendant. I craned my neck to look back at it before Kurapika tugged at my hand. I smiled sheepishly at his exasperated expression.

We burst out into a wider, classier shopping district. "The building's just across here." The Kirriko pointed across the road. A towering glass office block broke the clouds with its hundreds of stories. Gosh.

"They're gathered from the four corners of the world." Leorio murmured.

"It'd have to be big to contain so many people." Kurapika said, ever the practical one. Gon and I just stared at it.

"No, not there." The Kirriko said, pointing to the right. "_There_."

A dumpy Chinese restaurant stood there. Well that's a bit of a letdown.

"Hey, navigator! If this is a joke it's in bad taste." Leorio protested. "You want us to believe thousands of candidates are waiting inside?"

The Kirriko grinned impishly. "Precisely. No one would imagine thousands of Hunter candidates are waiting inside." With that, he pushed the door open and we were greeted with the scent of sizzling onions.

"Hello, what would you like?" The man behind the counter asked as he tossed rice in a wok.

"A steak!" Our navigator said. The cook raised his eyebrows.

"How would you like it cooked?" he asked, weighing us up.

"Slowly grilled over a low flame, rare."

"At the room in the back, sirs and miss!" An energetic waitress waved us through. Indeed, it was a room. Nothing strange about it at all. Set yum-cha style with an inset grill in the centre. We stood around awkwardly.

"One in ten thousand." The Kirriko said. We stared at him. "It's the proportion of candidates that get this far. Have courage, my little friends, I'll be happy to be your navigator next year as well." He slipped out of the room, waving.

There was a click and suddenly it felt like my stomach was pushed into my throat. Oh my god. I leaned back against the wall and pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes. Elevator.

"He's making fun of us." Leorio said indignantly. "It's like he's sure he won't pass this year!" Well it's a hard test, my manly man. Appendix.

"One every three years." Kurapika said slowly. "That's the number of candidates that pass on their first try, do you understand now?" There was a manic gleam in his eyes.

What have I gotten myself into? Well if it's going to be that hard, I'll definitely be up to scratch with my plans if I pass. Intestines.

"But if that's the case, why are people ready to do anything to become Hunters?" Gon wondered. Oh my. This kid is almost in his teens yet he has the mentality of a five year old.

"You understand nothing? Are you doing it on purpose?" Leorio roared, outraged. Gon looked slightly taken aback.

"To be a Hunter is the –" Kurapika and Leorio began at the same time.

"– most Noble thing ever!" Kurapika finished. Liver.

"– thing that brings the most money!" Leorio shouted. They glared at each other.

"Suck up."

"Money grubber."

"With the title comes a license. With that you can travel to all countries, plus you get free access to public services!" Leorio said, closing his eyes as if relishing the thought. "Out of a hundred of the world's richest men, 60 are Hunters. The license is a symbol of glory and wealth! You only have to sell it to be able to live in luxury for seven lifetimes!"

Yeah, that sounded pretty good to me. Oh, I hate elevators! I swear I left half my organs up in the restaurant.

"No, the true role of a Hunter is to protect the people and maintain the balance of nature!" Kurapika cut in angrily. "To hunt for animals or search for treasures are what amateurs do. Professional Hunters have the principal occupation to preserve objects of cultural history or saving rare species of animals and plants. That's not all, they must also arrest wanted criminals and Hunters gone wrong! A fiery mentality, and iron constitution and knowledge set in stone: All this is indispensable to be a good Hunter! It is hard work but very satisfying!"

Kurapika, the world isn't made of saints. Gon looked like his eyes have gone in different directions. Seeing as neither will yield, they rounded on poor Gon.

"So, Gon!"

"What kind of Hunter do you want to be?"

Gon looked completely torn between them.

"Risumi!" They turned to me.

"Uhh I'm doing it to save a life." I said, hesitantly. The blonde looked satisfied. "My own life." I clarified. He gave me a look of disappointment. Hey! I can't help other people if I'm rolling over dying.

_Ding_.

"We'll finish this discussion later." Leorio said to Kurapika who nodded curtly.

100 levels below ground. This doesn't feel so good. There was a tense silence as we waited for the elevator to release us.

The doors slid open to a huge underground cavern. There was a greenish tinge to the lighting and sewerage pipes were visible in the walls. The crowd that turned to seize us up was stiff and cold. There was not one friendly face. No one spoke and no one moved. I was finding it rather hard to breathe.

I avoided eye contact with everyone, instead looking at their eyebrow or neck. They didn't disappoint, one man was sporting a Victorian-style ruffle. A strange man in circus clothing sat building a house of cards with a leer on his face. The candidates here were nothing compared to the ones from the ship. These were veterans.

How will we keep up with these monsters?! We're just kids! Normal, regular kids! Gon is _twelve_!

A little man with a bean-shaped head walked up to us with sympathetic eyes. He tossed a circular plate to each of us in turn. Mine read 406. I pinned it to my shirt wordlessly.

"Welcome to the Hunter Exam." He said.

"Thanks, mister!" Gon said, happily.

"Thanks." I said flatly. The others didn't say anything. There was a soft thump as a pudgy man leapt down from a pipe.

"Hi, I'm Tonpa. Nice to meet you." He said kindly shaking Gon's hand. The rest of us stared at him suspiciously. Here in this dog-eat-dog tunnel is a little dude shaking our hands? Sure. But I shook his hand anyway. "You guys must be new."

"How can you tell?" Gon asked, eyes wide. Honey, we totally stick out.

"That's easy." Tonpa said. "I've been taking this test since I was ten, this is my thirty-fifth time."

"Thirty-fifth!" Gon said in admiration.

"I'm what you'd call a veteran." Tonpa laughed. "If you have any questions just ask."

Leorio turned to me and Kurapika. "If I were him I wouldn't be so proud. If it takes thirty-five years…"

"Yeah," Kurapika agreed.

"He's like a bug, really." I added. "Nothing great but can't be killed. A cockroach, if you will." Leorio snorted.

"Oh, man, that's great." He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

At Gon's indirect request, Tonpa began making one-sided introductions. I listened closely while vaguely letting my gaze drift from person to person.

A tortured scream rang through the air. The crowd quickly gave it a wide berth. I used Kurapika's shoulders as leverage to jump higher. A man's hands were dissolving into flower petals before my eyes.

"Oh, how strange." The man in the jester outfit murmured. "He doesn't have any arms. Just magic, ladies and gentlemen, just magic..." I was only high enough to see for a second, but the scene struck horror in my veins.

The man was still gasping incoherent sentences as he gaped as his arms, or what's left of them. He was close to hyperventilating.

"You have to be more careful. And don't forget to apologise when you hit someone." He looked around at everyone. His slit-like eyes flashing on his structured face.

"#44. Hisoka the Magician." Tonpa said, as Hisoka walked off, whistling. "Last year, everyone said he would have won but he killed an examiner because he didn't like him. He was disqualified."

And they let him _back_? I shall stay invisible throughout the test, oh yes I will.

Leorio voiced my horror, stuttering.

"Examiners change every year, the examiners are the ones that choose the content of the test." Tonpa continued. "They hold all of the power: If an examiner says 'it's okay', no matter if a demon or hell spawn… Last year he mutilated not only the examiner but twenty others that you don't see this year. _Stay away from him_."

Oh, buddy, you have no idea how far I plan to stay.

"Oh, by the way," Tonpa said. He pulled five cans of soft drinks out of his bag. He passed them around. "Shall we drink to celebrate our meeting?"

"Thanks!" Gon said. I seconded him. Kurapika and Leorio were both looking quite stunned at this new development.

I cracked open the tab, expecting to be hit in the face with a fizzy orange scent. But nothing came. The carbonic pressure was too flat to even release air. The juice was either really old, like, several years old or it has been opened before. No one carries around year old juice, seriously.

Tonpa, that sneaky little dude was trying to knock us out. I opened my mouth to tell the others but I was cut off by Gon letting the juice flow out of his mouth like some gross orangey waterfall. He burped.

"Tonpa, your juice tastes weird, I think it's expired!" He exclaimed. Why does he think the best of everyone, expired juice, my ass. The cans have been opened before, the carbonated pressure's flat. Leorio and Kurapika poured their drinks out quick smart. I followed suit.

"I'm sincerely sorry." Tonpa said, clasping his hands and lowering his head.

"No, you don't have to apologise!" Gon said. "But it's lucky I drank that drink first, I often ate plants in the mountains I don't have any problem detecting weird tastes." He said happily.

"Yes, very much so…" Tonpa said, sweating. His face was no longer kind and relaxed, it had the squinty consistency of someone sucking on lemons. Tough luck, little man.

A sharp, irritating sound pierced the thick tension. It sounded like an amplified alarm clock. It looked like a sock puppet. A tall man in a business suit held it by the very tip of his fingers. His moustache gave him cat-like smugness although I couldn't see where his mouth was.

"Here I am. Time for the reception is over." He said. "Now let the Exam begin. This way, please." He gestured to the length of the tunnel. He must be a butler of some sort. "We'll begin with a short verification. It's a very difficult exam. You could miss a chance and hurt yourself, or simply die. There will be moments where you or your companions get irreparably hurt. There are things that can't be avoided. Now follow me." His voice was silky and slightly amused. "My name is Satotz, I am to lead you to the destination of Phase Two."

"Phase Two? But what about Phase One?" Someone piped up.

"Ah, but the first has already begun." I bet he's smirking behind that moustache of his. "If you're able to follow me to the place where the second phase stands, you'll have passed the first. I won't tell you where we go or when you'll arrive, you'll have to be content with following me."

The Hunter Exam has begun.

~oOo~


	8. Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

The steady rhythm of running lulled my mind. The air was filled with the sound of pounding feet and loud breathing as I thought back to the reason of taking this test. Sumi. I was only a convenient replacement. I can still remember the first time I met Tae. She was frantic, voice bordering on hysterical.

"Sumi?" A woman shouted. "Sumi! Is that you?" She ran towards me with her arms outstretched, a small boy in tow. I just sat there on the fallen leaves, too tired and hungry to even attempt to run from this crazy woman. She threw her arms around me and sobbed into my hair.

"Mama, she's not Sumi." Nicky snapped. He was older than me. "Her eyes are all wrong."

Sumi had brown eyes, like the rest of her family. Mine were the darkest black, like my hair. They all had honey coloured hair, Sumi being the exception, until Del dyed hers purple when I was eleven. I was so excited. I begged Tae and Ben to let me dye mine, too, but they were adamant.

"You won't even be able to see the colour, Sweetie, your hair is too dark." Ben said, diplomatically.

"It's called _bleach_, Ben!" I whined as I slouched all over the chair. I perked up after a moment and leaned across the table. "Hey, how 'bout a piercing?" I whispered conspiratorially.

"No!" Tae said from the garden. I had jerked away. She must be psychic, I'd thought, and bolted to find Del for protection.

I laughed as I exhaled. My problems when I was eleven paled in comparison to my current ones.

Two months before Sumi was taken, she had almost died. A wolf was stalking her when she wandered off into the forest and it had almost gotten her when something set fire to the tree behind her. The wolf had bolted. The family charted up the incident to fate and scolded Sumi till she cried. I knew that because Tae still feels guilty about it. Not that she ever told me, sometimes I get thirsty at night. She always said to Ben that the worst part was not knowing whether their daughter was dead or alive.

So when I came along, bruised, lost and hungry, the Kanatas took me in. Tae and Ben with four children. Delphi was fourteen, then. Nicky was two years my senior at ten, and never let me forget it. Sumi was seven. Then came Roger, six and the world's happiest supplier fart noises. Last was cute, raspberry-blowing Ellie at two years old. It's been eight years.

A stitch stabbed at my side as I jumped over the prone body of a former-applicant. I huffed to catch my breath.

It's true I had Sumi's features; same button nose, high cheek bones, black hair. She was a sweet, quiet girl. There were many pictures on the mantle. It was kind of them to include me too, documenting my growth from eight years old. Picking up from where Sumi left off.

Tae had leaned back and held me at arms' length, studying my face. She'd asked me for my name.

"Re-." I responded automatically before clamping my mouth shut. Who knew how many people were coming after me for those stupid rocks?

"Re?" She repeated. She pronounced it with an accent, 'Ri', not like Mother Te_re_sa. "Is that a nickname?"

I nodded hesitantly.

"Mama, let's go, she's just some girl." The boy tugged at her sleeve. His eyes were cold when they met mine.

"Nicky, that's hurtful. Ri needs help." She scolded. She turned back to me. "How about you come home with us? We'll take care of you until you find your parents."

I stared at her for a long time.

"Okay."

"Risumi," Kurapika said, "What are you thinking so hard about?"

"Nothing, just my family." Something in his expression shifted and I instantly felt guilty. Oh sugar lollipops. I screwed my eyes shut and took a deep breath.

"My adoptive family." I amended. "They gave me this name."

"Adoptive?" He said, surprised.

"Yeah." I concentrated on keeping my pace. "My biological parents got our driver to take me to the edge of the estate and leave me in the forest."

"They abandoned you?" Kurapika coughed.

"Yes." I said shortly.

Before he could reply, thankfully a small figure skirted between me and Kurapika on a skateboard.

"Hey, Kid! That's cheating!" Leorio roared. The boy skidded to a stop. He had a mop of white, fluffy hair that curled up at the ends. Why does everyone have better hair than I do?

"Why?" His eyes were calculating.

"'Why?'" Leorio said. "It's an endurance test, that's why!"

"No, it's not." Gon interjected. "The examiner only told us to follow him." The older man rounded on him.

"Gon, which side are you on?" Leorio demanded.

"You should conserve your energy, you're just being noisy." Kurapika reprimanded. I could hear Leorio grinding his teeth and breathing sharply through his nose.

"Tell me," the boy turned to Gon, Leorio forgotten. "How old are you?"

"Almost twelve." Gon chirped.

"Same as me." He kicked his skateboard off the ground and tucked it under his arm. "Guess I'll run, too."

"Show off." I murmured at the same time Gon said:

"Cool!"

"I'm Killua."

"And I'm Gon!"

Aww, look at these boys introducing themselves.

"And you, Mister?" Killua asked Leorio.

"'Mister?'" Leorio was enraged. "Hey, I'm from the same generation as you are!"

"Are you sure?" Gon exclaimed loudly.

Leorio growled. "It's finished! I'm never talking to you again!" He shook his fist at Gon. I snickered at his childishness. Oh, Leorio, loveable simpleton.

My vision narrowed to see only the ground in front of me. My mouth was so dry I could feel dust sticking to the back of my throat. When I tried to swallow, something got stuck and I started coughing. My breath tasted of blood which was not good, I'm nearing my limit. We must have been running for four or five hours.

Footsteps suddenly picked up in a different rhythm. Stairs. _Stairs_. Oh god. I can't believe it. These sadistic, examiners just loved to see people cry. With a grunt, I adjusted my rhythm and refocused my energy to the balls of my feet. I kept my feet light, bouncing off just as my foot touched the step. Shaking the hair out of my face, I tugged at the collar of my shirt, for once grateful for the split down the back that widened the neckline down to my non-existent cleavage. My breath was lasting shorter and shorter. Kurapika pulled up beside me and we kept up the pace solidly.

A cool breeze suddenly brushed past us. Leorio overtook us huffing and puffing enough to power a train. He'd tied his suit jacket around his waist and pinned his number to his bare chest. His striped tie fluttered in the breeze of his slipstream. I batted it out of my face with a huff.

"Are you okay, Leorio?" Kurapika asked.

"As you can see I'm really fine." Leorio grunted. "I'm not the best but it doesn't matter – I know I'm going to make it. Even if I have to run naked!"

That was pretty inspirational. And it seemed Kurapika thought so too, because he untied his tabard and stuffed it in his bag, revealing a white training suit. He caught up with Leorio.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked.

"To discuss is to consume energy!" Leorio said. Well isn't he just full of wisdom today. Kurapika ignored him.

"Is it really because of the money that you want to become a hunter? I'm sure that it's not. We only met each other a few days ago, but I've understood this at least. You certainly don't have a rigorous attitude, and you're not especially cleaver but –"

Wow, Blondie. Insulting people usually does the trick of getting them to open up to you, huh?

"But I don't think you have a bad heart. I've seen a lot of people who lived only for money but you're not that kind of person."

"You," Leorio panted, "you're the king of logic, aren't you."

There was a pause before Kurapika spoke again. His voice was subdued as he explained the reason for his clan's massacre. Scarlet eyes.

"If we die in this state, our eyes will never return to their normal colour and will stay bright forever. Some consider the colour one of the seven most beautiful in the world."

I blanched. That is sick and disgusting. Things that were once alive should never, ever, be kept after death. Least of all for display.

"Whatever happens I'll definitely capture the Phantom Troupe. And I'll give my brothers and sisters back their eyes."

Leorio glanced at him. "Unfortunately, they're sure sold on the black market. The clients are all multi-millionaires. It's impossible for a normal person to reach that status." Leorio's voice was gruff.

"But that isn't the case for a hunter. If I choose to become a hunter under contract I'll have access to many societies." Kurapika said.

"Under contract?" Leorio echoed. "You're willing to sell your soul and dignity?"

"What is my dignity," Kurapika panted, "in comparison to the pain of my family?" His face was serious, eyes overshadowed by pain.

"I'm sorry." Leorio grunted. "I don't have a reason as noble as yours to tell. I can only say that my goal really is money."

I think they may have forgotten about me.

"Don't tell me you really think you can buy everything in this world!"

"Yes! Things for sure, but also dreams! Everything can be bought, even lives!"

"Stop this, Leorio. Take back what you said!"

"Why? It's the truth. If I had the money my friend wouldn't have died!"

I inhaled sharply. Blood pounded harder in my ears.

"An illness?" Kurapika asked, cautiously.

"It wasn't incurable. But to operate we needed so much money. I was a little naïve so I thought I'd become a doctor so that I could tell the parents of all those children in the same situation as my friend 'I don't charge'. But I was too naïve! As it turns out, medical studies are really expensive!" Leorio cried. "You see? Money, money, money. I want money!"

Kurapika turned to me, smiling. "So, Risumi. What's your reason?"

The question took me by surprise. I flinched as my foot caught on a step. I yelped. I threw my hands out, hit the ground, and flipped my legs over my head. I kept running.

"Don't surprise people like that." I warned.

"Hey," Leorio said, "that was really impressive."

"Oh, yeah. I live with a psychopath of an older brother." I said, darkly. I felt Kurapika's gaze on me.

"Didn't you say you were adopted?"

It wouldn't hurt to tell them. They've already told me everything about themselves. What damage would it be? Kurapika's after revenge and the Kurta eyes, Leorio's after money and a doctorate. I doubt they have ties to my goal. They've trusted me. Kurapika's even saved my butt once.

So I told them. And when I started, I couldn't stop.

"Alright, kiddies. Hold on tight, because it's gonna be one hell of a ride.

"My father's a rich dude. There's a huge jewel collection that's been in our family so long, that's it's named after us. Tell me, what would an eight year old girl want with coloured _rocks_ when there was a _fake poop_ and a cat? Either way, he accused me of making off with it when it disappeared the day of my eighth birthday. Locked me in the basement. Tried to make me own up to it, in various ways. How do you own up to something you don't even understand? He got pissed. Told our driver to take to the edge of the estate and leave me outside the fence. The fence was electrified. Bloody nightmare.

"Hang on to your seat belts, boys and girls, because there's more! I wandered into the forest for food after a few hours. A lady and her kid found me some days later. They'd just lost a daughter that I looked similar to and took me in. So, I've got a mission in three parts: Find out the fate of the little sister I never met for the sake of my family, find the Lisbon Collection, and go home to beat up my parents and make off with some of their money. Rich ass bastards. Here's the thing – there was a rumour the Phantom Troupe made off with the happy collection, that's my lead."

I was breathing laboriously when I finished. I feel I said too much. People have loved ones dead, what's a girl's reputation compared?

"So, psychotic older brother, where does he come in?" Leorio asked. I glanced at him in surprise.

"Right. So, Tae and Ben took me in, they have five children, one of which is missing. Nicky's the second oldest, 17. The strawberry loving freak likes to 'train me'. I think he has mixed feelings about me. I developed a sixth sense just for him."

"Sounds like a fun family." Kurapika smiled.

"Your old man's a piece of work, huh." Leorio said.

"You said it." I murmured.

These two guys who I met not three days ago know more about me than my family. All they've known about me this while time was my name, and even that was a lie. I'm not Risumi. Not really. But my real name is not mine to claim at this point in time.

Kurapika and Leorio listened to all that and still think I'm an okay person. They didn't even demand it of me. They'd already bared their souls. They trusted me, I suppose. It's not like I would have told them out of the blue. Oh, hey, my father thinks I'm dead and I'm taking the place of someone else's daughter. I don't think they forgot about me back there.

I met good people.


	9. Terror and Sunshine

Hey everyone! It's been a while.  
There was a glitch a couple of months back in the doc manager that screwed up the chapters. I was able to replace them but as a result, lost all the notes and comments I made at the beginnings and ends. I fixed up some plot holes and grammatical errors while I was at it but ...  
On with the story. This is the longest chapter I've ever written and frankly I have my doubts. Cheers!

~oOo~

The Numere Wetlands.

Home of the world's most psychotic, crazy, desperate to live creatures. What kind of genetic mutation produced the man-faced monkey? Taking the face of a human to trap people. What a teenage girl.

It's harder to run in marshland. At least the concrete in that god-awful tunnel allowed quick movement. In marsh, your feet sinks into the ground with every step. Then you have to yank it back out, only for it to sink in again. There's the fog, too. It's cold and thick, settling on my skin like a film of fear.

I hate this place.

"Leorio, Kurapika, Risumi!" Gon called from up front. "Killua says we should keep to the front!"

'You imbecile." Leorio roared. "We would go if we could!"

"We'll catch up with you guys." Kurapika called back.

"Got to be kidding me." I grumbled.

The fog around us thickened. Our footsteps made uncomfortable sucking sounds in the marsh.

"We can't even see which way we're going." Kurapika sighed.

"It's okay." Leorio replied. "As long as we don't lose sight of the guys in front of us."

A very sound theory. And it might have worked if heads didn't start rolling off their shoulders one by one. The fog thickened. Everything became a milky white.

Leorio yelped. "What's going on?"

Giant, juicy, red strawberries emerged from the fog and floated tantalisingly in front of us. I didn't move. Strawberries are my favourite. Hallucinogen?

An applicant walked towards them. He'd barely made it past Kurapika before he hit the ground with a strangled yell. Poor fellow. His screams returned, more frantic, as the head of an orange dinosaur lifted him high into the air. His screams abruptly stopped. The movement caused the fog to dissipate a little and we could see that the dinosaur had strawberries growing on stalks out of its back.

The dinosaur paused for a moment, as if considering its options and darted its head at Leorio, who blocked the bite with his brief case. He swore under his breath. The dinosaur tossed it's mouthful into the air. Leorio's screams were raw and terrified.

"Leorio!" Kurapika yelled. I snapped out of my trance and darted for its feet. I pulled my twin scythes out by their chain and twirled them as I ran for maximum momentum. The cold moisture on the grass seeped into my combat boots, chilling me to the bone. The whirring sound filled my ears as giant orange feet filled my vision. I drove the blades into them with my whole body weight. Then I ran for my life.

Even as I as running, the shadow of the orange dinosaur was swaying unevenly. It roared in pain as I released a stream of profanities at the top of my lungs. What on earth had Kurapika done to its face? I swerved to the right just as the dinosaur collapsed, shaking the ground with a massive rumble.

I cursed again, for good luck.

"Come on, let's go!" Kurapika shouted.

~oOo~

The only sounds were the squishing of our shoes in the mud. Dank mist seeped into our clothes and hair, making everything cold, wet and sticky. Leorio threw his hands out to stop me and the blonde. "Wait, don't move." Before us, not ten metres away, was the scene of an ambush. A group of seven men with weapons at the ready surrounded the lanky figure of Hisoka. I cursed under my breath. If we backed away now we'd still have a chance of making it out alive and back to the main group.

But my body wouldn't move. I was rooted to the spot, unable to tear my eyes away as the crazy clown cut down six body with a swipe of a card. The leader was screaming and crying for help, crawling away on all fours, but he received two cards in the back of the head before the thought of coming to his aid even entered my mind. Playing cards are flexible and soft, made of thin plastic or paper. How was it that this joke of a man could make them pierce a skull?

Hisoka froze for a minute. Then his golden eyes slid towards us. I couldn't supress the shudder that racked my body. Then, Kurapika spoke, his voice low and calm. "On the count of three, we run in different directions. One… Two…"

I pivoted and sprinted away the moment Kurapika uttered "Three!" I ran so fast my arms burned and the trees blurred, as if making up for my immobility before. Faintly, I heard what sounded like Leorio's roar. Bloody hell, that idiot! I turned back the way I came. Back to the clearing with the crazy clown.

I arrived in time to see the brunette taking wide swings at the clown with a length of timber. Where did that even come from? Hisoka was dodging them all but he was making his move now, I could see his lips stretch into a grin… I used the last of my strength to run up and tackle Leorio to the wet, mushy ground. Ugh.

"Risumi, what are you doing here?" Leorio yelled. I struggled to catch my breath before replying.

"Saving your ass!"

"I don't need your saving."

"You just did!" I protested as I stood up. "Did you not run or something? You know sometimes it's a very good idea to run, especially when a crazy man wants to kill you!"

Hisoka chuckled. I clammed my mouth shut. There was a sudden gust of wind as something blew past me, and let's just say, one minute he was in front of us and the next minute Leorio crashed horribly into a tree. I backed up smart, tugging my scythes out of their holsters.

The jester took his time advancing towards me. "Well, well, well. What a treat." He licked his lips and I couldn't hide an involuntary shiver. "The Lisbon princess." He flicked out a card.

Hisoka lunged and I threw myself to the side, pivoting and preparing my scythes to cut. If I didn't go for the kill I would die for sure. I lashed at his arms with a rowing motion, driving him back, and back, but not once did I make contact which was infinitely frustrating. And scary. The whole time he was smirking. He was still smirking when he shoved me back by the tension in the chain connecting the blades. I cussed through my teeth. Hisoka licked his lips. How to get out of this situation?

"I wonder," Hisoka said, "how little Resa ended up in a place like this?"

"Who the hell are you?" I grunted as I used my blades to deflect his cards.

"Hmmm, who knows?" The creepy clown sang. He flicked the cards at me with triple the speed. They tilted in crazy directions; slipping between my blades, through my shirt, slicing my hair, my skirt, and my arms. I winced with each cut. Scythes aren't enough. What were all those hours spend training for? I can't beat this psychopath. I don't want to die at the hands of a man in a jester costume to be eaten by some mutation in this swamp. I want to clear my name and live a happy life. I want to see the elder sister I idolised become a world renowned archaeologist. I want to pass with Kurapika, Gon, Killua and Leorio. Hell, I want to eat _pizza_ one last time. But what were the chances of him sparing me? He, who had dissolved a man's arms into beautiful plum blossom petals.

"What a delicious expression." Hisoka licked his lips slowly.

A wave of desperation engulfed me and I threw the scythes at him as a last ditch attempt. They dug deep into the marshy ground behind him. Well, shit. I stumbled over a patch of particularly soft ground as I backed away, landing on my butt with both hands behind me. The lanky figure prowled closer and closer. I shuffled away until my back hit a tree.

Hisoka leered at me, bending down to lift my chin with one finger, exposing my neck. My breathing came heavier as I anticipated the card that would slice open my jugular vein. There was a flash of red, a distortion of the teardrop stencil on Hisoka's cheek that left an angry red mark.

Gon. With his fishing pole. I was saved by a twelve-year-old kid.

The clown rose up to his full height and stalked to the green-clad boy, his lips pulled in a shit-eating grin. "What a fascinating weapon. Allow me a closer look." I gathered my bag, wrenched my blades from the ground and crawled around the clearing to Leorio. The man's cheek was swelling like a giant gumball. I dashed up to the clown, planning to at least land a kick on his back but he disappeared at the last second. As I stumbled to catch my footing, something hard and solid caught me on the back of my neck. And I went out like a light.

~oOo~

"Risumi. Hey, Risumi!"

"Do you think she's okay?"

Someone's hand brushed against my nose. "Well, she seems to be breathing."

I blinked slowly. Kurapika and Gon were leaning over my face.

"She's awake!" Gon exclaimed, as I struggled to sit up. I clutched my head and winced.

"What happened here?" I asked, taking the blonde's hand to stand up.

"Hisoka said we 'passed' and carried Leorio with him." Gon said, sounding unsure.

"What exactly did we pass?" I grumbled, rubbing my arms. My eyes widened when I saw they were stained red. Oh, right. The psychopath all but tore up my arms. Speaking of tearing… I glanced down at my shirt. It was barely hanging off my shoulders, all but useful. I took it off, revealing the white tank top underneath. I dumped the torn, pink shirt by a tree. Pollution my ass, knowing this place some freaky thing will eat it. "So um, we good to go?"

"Yeah, we were just waiting for you to wake up." Kurapika said.

I hesitated. "Do we even know where to go?"

"I do." Gon piped up. "It's Leorio's cologne. I could tell it apart from kilometres away." Kurapika raised an eyebrow. I sniffed at the air but rubbed at my nose straight away. It's too cold, I can barely smell a thing in this awful, wet place.

"Well then, let's get going."

~oOo~

The site of the Second Phase was blocked by a tall fence. Sounds of wild animals could be heard from out here. We found Leorio safe and relatively sound. "Except for your arm, everything seems fine." Kurapika assured him.

"Are you mocking me? What about my face" the older man demanded.

"As he said, everything is as usual." I teased.

"Listen here, you!"

It seemed Hisoka's punch was so great that not only did it push Leorio's cheek to swell over one eye, but it also knocked out twenty minutes of his life prior to the hit. He remembered nothing of the incident. But he was nice enough to patch up my arms even though I made fun of him.

"What even happened?" The brunette asked.

"An accident." I said as nonchalantly as I could.

"I bet you did something stupid again." Leorio grunted. Yeah, like trying to save you. Leorio was strange. He claimed all he wanted was money but he has a really noble cause. We made so much fun of him but he'll still help us when we need it. All I could conclude was that he was just… nice. 'Nice' is such a peacemaker but for the life of me I could not find another word to describe him as he wrapped bandages around my arms.

~oOo~

As it turns out, the growling sounds behind the fence weren't from wild beasts. They were only from the aching, empty stomach of Buhara, one of the examiners of the Second Phase. The other examiner was a tiny pixie of a girl with turquoise hair and not enough clothes called Menchi. They were Gourmet Hunters. And we had to cook. "Roast pork, that's what I like best." Buhara said, drooling a little. "I don't care what kind it is as long as it's from the Biska Forest."

The atmosphere was quite different from the stagnant hostility of the First Phase. It was heavy and watchful in the tunnel, each person waiting to another to make a move. Then the run was possessed with only one collective mindset – survive. Here, is the first competition of the Hunter Exam.

There is a limit to how much a person can eat, no matter how much they like to eat. We need to catch a pig, cook it and present it to the examiner as quickly as possible lest we fail by the independent variable of metabolism. The woods were swarming with people like bees from a hive.

Gon jumped and slid down a grassy hill. Killua quickly followed with a cheer, then I did too. This was the perfect scenario of 'if he jumped off a cliff would you jump too?' It turns out I would and it was a stupid decision because for some godforsaken reason the boys didn't move after sliding down. "Killua? Killua!" I yelped. "Move, damn it!" But he didn't and I slammed into him. I could barely take a breath before Kurapika crashed into my back and knocked the wind out of me. And there was an even bigger force when Leorio added the cherry to the cone but now I couldn't breathe for another reason.

In front of us were the biggest pigs I had ever seen with boat-like snouts. They were chewing on bones. "Don't tell me they're –" Leorio started as they looked up.

"Carnivores!"

We climbed over each other and bolted. We were being chased by giant carnivorous beasts through a forest full of enemies but I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my throat. There was a sort of hilarity about the situation.

"Their forehead is their weakness!" Gon's voice called from somewhere to my left. I ran up the nearest tree and back-flipped off it to kick it's giant forehead. It froze, swayed a little and toppled over. Huh, that was easy. Talk about having big things to compensate.

We carried them back to the exam site – me, Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio and every other applicant that happened to be within hearing range of Gon, which was pretty much all of them. Everyone proceeded to throw their pigs on a spit and roast them. And not to be stereotypical but…

"Do any of you guys know how to cook?" I asked them.

"I help Mito-san sometimes." Gon said cheerfully.

"Of course I can." Killua rolled his eyes.

"A little." Kurapika replied.

"Not at all." Leorio said melodramatically. I sighed. Judging by the methods of the rest of the applicants, I could conclude pretty solidly that they couldn't either. None of them washed the pig, for starters. Or carved out the favourable pieces. They just stuck a pole through its mouth to its butt and set it on fire.

Once I got the heat going I greased up a saucepan and threw in cubes of pork – which I had cleaned, by the way. Then I proceeded to also throw in a handful of mixed herbs and spices along with a few cups of chicken stock. Stock is a good back up for those who can't cook properly, Del said. Well it's a shortcut but up against people who didn't even gut the pig? No problem.

I looked over at the boys and saw that they all did the exact same thing. Even Killua who had so confidently said he could cook.

"No one has passed yet." Leorio mused in front of his charred black pig.

"And Menchi hasn't even taken a bite." Kurapika added. Up on the podium the turquoise-haired woman was complaining about the lack of culinary creativity. Kurapika snapped his fingers in understanding. "This phase of the exam is a cooking test, but they're judging us on originality and powers of observation." Gon and Leorio both got smug 'I got this!' looks on their faces as they rubbed their chins. I raised an eyebrow.

I watched in uncertainty as Leorio stuck a flag in his pig and marched proudly up to the examiners. "How do you like my cooking?"

"Is this supposed to be a kiddy meal?" Menchi roared, flipping his plate. I snickered into my fist.

Next to march up was Gon, who had thrown a lei of pink flowers over his pig and tied pink ribbons around the ears and tail. "I'm next!" Was that a serious attempt?

"It's basically the same thing!" Menchi yelled at him.

Undeterred, Kurapika rocked up. "I'm next, please judge my creation." Creation? You're getting ahead of yourself, Blondie. He had the sense to get rid of the head and limbs, at least, leaving him with the body which he sliced up like hamburger patties and inserted a salad in between the layers. Huh, this might be good.

Menchi had a tired, pissed, sceptical frown on her face. "Finally, something that resembles an actual dish." She dug her fork in. It was the first time she had bothered to taste an applicant's dish. She considered it for a moment, before, "Yuck!" the blonde looked taken aback. "Appearance is important but only if the taste is good too! You're no better than #403."

"Oh well, that's too bad." Leorio said cheerfully to Kurapika when he came back but all the teen could do was repeat 'no better than #403' under a cloud of gloom. He shot me a look of dismay.

Aww, poor baby. Just kidding. Bow down before my culinary prowess, peasant! Although, I could sympathise with him. Being just like Leorio must have been hard to swallow.

I lifted the lid off my saucepan and gulped. I had spent so long watching the boys fail that I forgot about my own dish! I popped one of the pork cubes in my mouth. Hmm, not bad, a little tough, maybe. Oh well, nothing a little tomato sauce can't fix. I tipped the contents of the pan onto a plate and squirted tangy red sauce over it. I set the plate down in front of Menchi and Buhara fairly apprehensively. Menchi gauged it suspiciously. "Seems okay." She speared a slice and chewed critically before, "You think ketchup is gonna fix this block of leather?" She yelled as she flipped my plate, too. Block of leather? That's a little harsh. "That's just like #402!"

#402 is Kurapika, who was no better than #403. I'm also no better than Leorio. I sighed. That's depressing, especially considering the fact that I'd cooked before! "Never mind." Gon said, patting my back. He's such a sweet kid.

"So much food, I'm stuffed!" Buhara said, patting his swollen stomach.

"Yeah, I'm stuffed too." Menchi said sarcastically. She had taken a total of two bites out of all the applicant dishes and swallowed nothing. "Therefore, no one passes. It's over." Her voice had taken a sulky, superior tone. Disbelief rippled through the crowd of hunter applicants. Well that's disappointing, we'd invested so much effort into making it this far, but it's not entirely soul crushing. I didn't get killed or badly injured for one thing, neither did Gon, Killua, Kurapika or Leorio which is a blessing in itself. I'd have to go back to face grandma's scorn but I didn't fail horribly – the entire cohort failed horribly.

There was the sound of splintering wood and the tearing of metal as #255 broke his station. "Stop screwing around. You asked for pork, so we risked our lives to –!"

"I said," she interrupted him, "to prepare the pork in a manner we both found delicious. None of you made anything remotely appetising. You all did almost the same thing." Hey, I beg to differ. "There was no effort made. Just when I thought someone actually tried, they only changed the appearance. No one tried to emphasise the flavour. I'm positive none of you took cooking seriously!" I stared at the grass and bit my lip. It was, for the most part, blindingly accurate.

"All pork dishes are the same." The bald ninja said sagely. In a flash, the turquoise woman had him by the collar and was screaming into his shocked face.

"Just say that _once more_. Any more crap from you and I'll shove my arms _up your ass and knock your teeth out_!" Whoa. That's awfully visual. "Don't mess with me! I don't want any lip from a bunch of amateurs who can't even roast a pig!" She sat down with a sigh. "In other words, you people don't have the guts to try anything new."

"Shut up!" #255 shouted. "I'm not trying to become a cook or a 'Gourmet Hunter', I want to be a hunter!" This was followed by a chorus of cheers. "My goal is to become a Blacklist Hunter. I refuse to let a mere Gourmet Hunter decide my fate!" He just said Gourmet Hunters weren't real hunters, didn't he. Well, I wish you a comfortable trip across the Styx.

"Too bad you're stuck with a mere Gourmet Hunter for an examiner, better luck next year?" Menchi pouted. #255 threw himself at her in a fit of rage and was punched so hard by Buhara he left not only the ground, but also the entire examination compound. I whistled under my breath as I admired the arc of his trajectory. Simply divine. Beautiful curves. Beside me, Gon winced in sympathy.

"Buhara, don't interfere." Menchi said calmly.

"But if I hadn't intervened you would have killed him, right?"

Menchi giggled. "Probably." She drew two long, beautiful knives from their holsters at her sides. "Let me clarify this. We frequently venture into dens of ferocious beasts, searching for ingredients. Every hunter knows some form of martial arts." Said knives were tossed into the air and juggled in a very impressive display. "You lack the willingness to experiment. That alone disqualifies you from becoming hunters!" No one dared to make a sound.

There was a burst of static from high above us.

"That being said, it would be excessive to fail every single applicant." The jovial voice came from an airship.

"The Hunter's Association logo!" Leorio informed us. A figure jumped from a door and plummeted into the earth at an incredibly high speed, creating a huge crater and a shower of dirt and smoke. The dust was cleared quickly by the wind and from within appeared a cocky-looking old man in traditional clothing and long, flowing eyebrows. Who the hell…?

"The chairman of the selection committee." Menchi supplied for us. "He's in charge of the hunter exam – Chairman Netero."

There was a lot of discussion, including the once violent examiner demurely admitting her exam was unnecessarily difficult and volunteering to resign her position. In the end Chairman Netero proposed a re-do of the Second Phase. Boiled eggs seemed entirely too tame after the order for carnivorous pigs.

Mt Split-in Half was… split in half, yes it was. I almost laughed. The person who chose the name either had no imagination or fancied himself funny. The two sides of the chasm were joined together by ropes and ropes of thick, glossy … silk? And hanging from them were clusters of the biggest eggs I had ever seen. Honestly, I could hold them with two hands and my fingers would not be able to meet.

"Spider eagles build their webs in deep ravines to protect their eggs from protectors." Chairman Netero informed us. Spider eagles? Spidery-birds that could _fly?_ I shuddered. Hope we don't have to catch one of them. I glanced at Kurapika and was surprised to see the gleam of excitement in his eyes. Gon and Killua too. Boys are beyond my comprehension.

"This makes their eggs one of the most difficult ingredients to obtain." The Chairman continued. "The eggs are also known as 'dream eggs'."

"H-hold a second, you don't mean –" #255 spluttered.

"I sure do!" Menchi cut him off in affirmation. She took two high-heeled steps to the edge of the ravine and leapt into the air, where she performed a perfect flip to face the bottom as she fell. She grabbed onto a strand of the web. Her gravitational energy caused it to launch her back up but she flipped again with perfect form and grabbed onto it. There was a collective gasp of disbelief.

The turquoise haired woman paused. "Even if she can grab some eggs, how will she climb back up?" Leorio wondered aloud. Menchi suddenly let go and fell freely. She tore an egg from its cluster on her way down. And disappeared into the fog that filled the seemingly bottomless chasm. "Is she trying to kill herself?" Leorio said in disbelief.

"No, she's not." Kurapika said. We all watched in apprehension. There was a sudden gust of wind that tossed debris – and Menchi – high into the air above us. I whistled.

Killua and Gon gazed at her happily. "That looks fun." The white haired kid said.

"This ravine has updrafts. They help the hatched eggs fly up to the web." The Chairman told us.

"There, now I just boil the egg." Menchi said, holding up her egg proudly.

"Y-you must be joking." #255 spluttered.

Gon smiled widely. "I've been waiting for this!"

"On the count of three?" I asked them. They nodded. "Alright. One, two … three!" I took a flying leap off the edge and laughed as I fell. I grabbed onto a strand of the web and gasped as my arms were almost dislocated from my shoulders. There is way too much elasticity in these things! Kurapika grabbed on to my right, and Killua to my left. And every time an applicant landed on our strand I felt it bounce and slack a little.

"Catch you later." Someone said, and let go.

"Let's go!" Leorio announced. My hands loosened a fraction.

"Not yet." Gon said. I yelped and clutched the strand of web with all my might. I couldn't see him past Killua's mop of hair but Gon's voice was serious in a way I had never heard him before.

"Why not?" Leorio asked him.

"There's no wind." Killua said flatly. "There isn't always an updraft."

As he said this, there came a scream from deep in the ravine. The applicant who let go first never came back up. I shivered.

Leorio's voice was panicked. "When's the next one?"

"Wait." Gon said. It was a stalemate. Some fifty people were clutching onto the web. Nobody moved. Everybody watched Gon intently. Our strand gave way a little.

"What?" Leorio yelped.

"The web won't hold us all." Kurapika replied. His voice had taken on an edge of panic.

I looked down at the fog and imagined the jagged rocks at the bottom. "On the off chance we die here, I love you guys." I said, half-jokingly.

"Don't say things like that!" Leorio cried.

"Gon, not yet?" Killua asked him. He made no reply. His eyes were closed in concentration.

"Damn, I can't wait for an updraft!" Someone yelled. I heard him let go.

"Me neither." Someone else said. He followed the first person.

Panic makes people irrational. If there's no updraft you can't get back up anyway. Better to wait till the last moment of the web's strength than to fall to a premature death.

"It's gonna snap!" Leorio shouted. But at the same moment I felt a tiny breeze waft at the bangs in front of my eyes. Ooh.

"Now!" Gon commanded. I released my grip on the web and felt the blood rushing back into my fingers. It felt tingly. I tore an egg with my descent and waited. A dozen scenarios of what-if flashed through my mind but soon enough a cushion of wind supported my flailing body and pushed us back up the ravine. I laughed with glee. I jumped off our ride back onto the ground. That was fun, but solid ground is so much more comfortable. I caught Kurapika's eye and he looked happy and carefree. We shared a smile.

Ten minutes later, the eggs were finally cooked. I bit into mine hungrily and it just melted in my mouth. I moaned. The yolk was runny and the whites were fluffy.

"Totally food-gasm worthy." Leorio remarked.

"Totallyyy." I repeated with a sigh.

Killua had scarfed his down in five seconds flat and turned to me cheekily. "Hey, Risumi onee-chan. Can I have a bite of yours?" I gave him a look. He was going to eat it all, I just knew it.

"Yeah fine." I handed him my egg. He looked a little surprised but took it happily. Damn, I should have gotten two.

"Here." Kurapika said. He held his egg out to me, not meeting my eyes. "Have some."

I smiled up at him. "Sure."


	10. Between Light and Dark

Hi, everybody! It's been just over six months since my last update, and I'm terribly sorry. This is not much of an excuse.

In Australia, Year 12 is the final schooling year and begins in term 4, October. This is because Year 11, the Preliminary HSC year is only three terms. Year 12 is a far cry from Year 11. It's about double the workload, plus fear of the final exams and our future. The Trials are in August. The HSC starts in October. It is safe to say that I will be writing, but not updating, again until November at the earliest.

Once again, I apologise. I only have one shot at this and I want to do this well. The ATAR requirement for the course I want to get into is achievable, so wish me luck!

This is the longest chapter I have ever written by far. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it can tide you over until November. Thank you all for sticking with me, you awesome people!

* * *

"Allow me to introduce myself to the forty-two remaining applicants. I am Netero, Chairman of this year's Hunter Exam selection committee."

"I am Beans, his secretary."

"Originally, I'd planned to make my appearance during the exam's final phase, but as I'm already here," he paused, "I'm loving the tension in the air! So I'll stick around for the rest of the trip."

The lack of separate transportation probably never even crossed his mind.

"We're scheduled to arrive at our destination tomorrow morning, 8am." Beans spoke up cheerfully. "You'll find dinner waiting in the dining hall. You are also welcome to get some rest. In other words, you are free to do as you please until you are contacted."

Killua turned to Gon. "Let's go explore the airship!"

"Yeah!" Gon agreed, and they made off to the gods know where.

"Oh my god." I groaned, at the same time Leorio grimaced.

"How can they have so much energy?" He rubbed his eyes. "I'm going to hit the hay."

"It's certainly been a long day." Kurapika amended.

"Understatement of the century," I yawned. "I can't believe all that happened in a day."

Kurapika ignored me. "However, I have one concern."

"Hmm? What's up?" Leorio asked him.

"How many more phases are there?" Kurapika wondered.

There could literally be any number of any length. It's useless to worry about it.

"Oh." Leorio hesitated. "They never mentioned that, did they?"

Heavy footfalls fell behind us. "On average there are five to six phases." Tonpa interjected. We paused from entering a room and turned around. Why would he help us now?

"That means we still have three or four to go." Leorio mused.

"All the more reason to rest now." Kurapika said. We all turned to leave, when the creepy little man spoke again.

"But you should be careful. The secretary only told us when we'll arriving at our destination so it's possible that the exam could take place on the airship itself, and it doesn't necessarily mean we'll be contacted at eight." He spoke quickly.

Leorio spun around. "What? Are you serious?"

"Huh, that does make sense." Kurapika contemplated.

"You might wake up to discover the exam has already ended." Tonpa sounded smug. "If you plan to make it to the next phase, don't let yourself relax on this airship."

"And I am taking a shower!" I announced loudly, throwing my arms into the air. "Disrupt me only on the grounds of death and murder." I spun on my heel before I saw Kurapika and Leorio's reactions. Stupid Tonpa. Who does he think he's kidding? Sure, they could set traps to weed us out when our guards are down but that is just low. The exam has been ridiculously difficult so far, and strange and dangerous, but it hasn't been underhanded. The bitter fat man was just trying to psych us out so we didn't get any rest – which after the day we just had, we needed badly.

I found a small unoccupied room and snagged it, spinning the lock behind me and flicking on the lights. The naked bulb cast a warm yellow glow throughout the room. It was a very nice place, complete with a shower, a bath, a toilet and a couple of benches and cupboards.

I set my bag down on a bench and proceeded to dig through it for clothes. Do I need to do laundry? I pulled out a plastic bag of damp clothes, from the ship trip, I suppose. I still had a couple sets of clothes left but the white pleated skirt I've been wearing since I changed on the ship was splattered with mud and torn in too many places in a way that went beyond the grungy fashion trends.

Wearing a skirt was the worst decision I've made so far in the exam. Considering all the running, and fighting, and falling, I'm just thankful for bike shorts. The tank top I was wearing was still good but… No, I'm not doing laundry. There was also the cloak I had shed sometime on the way to the entrance restaurant. I scrunched up all my dirty clothes and shoved them into the bottom of my bag like I do with my problems. I'll wash them when I get home.

I opened one of the cupboards and was surprised to discover stacks of clean white towels and a wide selection of shampoos and shower gels. Awesome. The water was hot, and delicious. It rejuvenated and made me sleepy at all once. I sighed happily as I lathered up my hair with a handful of sweet coconutty shampoo. It's been a while since I last used any coconut.

Years, actually. Eight years. Ben, my adoptive dad, was allergic to coconuts – completely and totally. He couldn't even handle the fumes so there was never any coconut or such products in the house.

I used to always smell like coconuts. It was my favourite scent to use as a kid, and even now, apparently. I was such a spoilt kid. How many children get to use fancy coconut scented soaps? I didn't realise I was a princess until everything was taken away. I brought with me nothing from my previous life save for cough medicine memories. Sweet at first, but leaving my emotions raw and bitter when the happiness wore off. And a bad taste in my mouth.

But even so, I couldn't help reminiscing about all the luxuries I had like a slow, suffering tease.

A maid and a butler to serve the girl, her father and her grandmother. A cook to take care of the meals. A gardener to tend to the extensive grounds and pretty flowers… what was his name again? Rob… no, Bobby. I called him Bobby.

I flinched at the stinging in my right eye and quickly rinsed it out with water.

In contrast, the Kanata household was like taking a sip of water you thought was only warm but ended up burning not only your tongue but also your eyebrows.

It was utter pandemonium to my life of proper behaviour. (I did possess a very impressive blob of fake poop, though, which Bobby gave me now that I think about it.) There was a baby, a toddler, an older, more domineering beast of a kid and a teen.

Every time I cried, which was fairly often to be completely honest, Ben would crush my head with his warm, heavy hand, and tell me to "Be a man, Risumi!" Somewhat sexist, but he meant well. The weight of his hand was comforting as it anchored me from imagined troubles. And between the hours of eight and three there was a crowd of people of all ages and sizes were punching at each other and yelling at the top of their very deep lungs. Yeah, it was a change.

And my name? Well it was certainly unorthodox.

"Hey, Ri," Ben called down to me from the roof, "could you pass me that hammer?"

"Sumi! Oh, Sumi, is that you?" Tae was caught off guard behind a basket of fresh laundry, which she dropped and had to wash again.

"MUM, Ri hit me!" Nicky screamed.

Del turned the corner and crashed into me. "Argh, Sumi! Oh, sorry, Ri."

Roger tugged at me sleeve. "Ri, can you reach the cookies?"

"Sumi."

"Ri."

"Sumi."

"Ri-Sumi!" Ellie squealed. And there you have it, christened anew – Risumi.

As an only (disowned) child whose only friends were the cat and the gardener everyday was a fun disaster. Nicky broke three teapots to my knowledge. Roger's fart noises started with the pursing of his lips and soon evolved to also produce from the backs of his knees and armpits. Nicky swallowed Ellie's tooth by accident. I wasn't sure how and I never asked. Del got rejected by the guy with the mushroom haircut and right-angled feet… It happened so fast;

"I like you!"

"I'm sorry, I like Jodie!"

I snorted. Ah, teenage love. Like that lasts.

I towelled off and pulled on a fuzzy purple sweater and grey sweatpants before emerging from the bathroom in a puff of coconut-scented steam like a very sophisticated super villain.

I found the boys eating dinner in the cafeteria. A dark haired girl was with them. The selection of food, I noticed, was every bit as wide as the soaps. I piled up a plate and plonked down next to Gon. "So, what's the plan?"

"I understand how you feel. Let's become hunters together and make our dreams come true." A deep, sultry voice murmured.

"Mmrf" I said, looking up from my plate. Oh, Leorio. He was flirting with the pretty girl who was turned resolutely away from him.

"By the way, I'm Leorio, what is your name?"

Gon, whose face was so lost up to this point, brightened. "She's Anita!"

"Anita… that's a good name." Leorio didn't miss a beat. "How about it?" His lips moved close to her ear. "Instead of talking to these kids, why don't we move over there so we grown-ups can talk about our dreams?" Oh, barf. I paused, chopsticks halfway to my mouth to watch her reaction.

"We can't do that. Leave me alone!" Anita burst out. Ooh, poor Leorio our fallen comrade, may your next attempt be shot down a little kinder.

"I can't." Kurapika cut in. Whoa, was he having a go too? "My name is Kurapika. I'm also aiming to become a Blacklist Hunter so I can relate to your situation."

Leorio was better at this.

"I wouldn't get too deeply involved if I were you." Killua said nonchalantly. "She has some business with me."

Oh, of course she does you smooth talking little man. What was it about this girl that's got all the guys chatting her up?

Anita removed Leorio's hand from her shoulder and stood up. "I heard a rumour that a member of the Zoldyck family was going to be taking the exam this year."

Okay, so maybe I read this wrong.

"Bingo! No doubt about it. I'm one of them." Killua said, not facing her. Seriously? This little brat? I've been fraternising with one of them?

Oh man, this chicken is great.

"So, you applied for the exam to take revenge?" Leorio clarified.

"That's right!"

Killua smirked. "You better remember this; having an assassin sent means that the person must have been really hated by others."

"Shut your mouth!" She screamed. Uh-oh. I rolled out of my seat just as she flipped the table. Food splattered all over where Gon and I were just a second ago, honestly our butt prints are still on it. I just got out of the shower!

She fought free of Kurapika and stabbed the back of the seat Killua was until a moment ago. She turned around and lunged again. Killua just stood there with his hands in his pockets like some overconfident idiot, too far away for me to knock over.

Chairman Netero appeared out of nowhere like an avenging angel and pressed two fingers on her blade. "Stop right there." That girl struggled but couldn't move her knife. I bet those fingers have little biceps he could flex.

"Don't stop her." Killua said loftily. "What a nosy geezer." I picked myself up off of the floor and dusted myself off. What a proud child.

"Examiners aren't normally supposed to deal with conflict between candidates." Netero said, as the girl withdrew her knife helplessly. "But Number 111 failed the second phase. No matter the reason, a person who has failed the exam won't even be able to compete with one who has passed." We watched her being led away by two bodyguards.

"She should have known that she would get caught pretty quickly for sneaking in." Leorio commented.

Kurapika shook his head. "If I had failed I probably would have done the same thing." His eyes softened. "The reason – it's not logical."

"Not logical, huh." Leorio said.

It's true, I suppose. Some things you just can't justify with science. Sometimes emotions overpower even the most logical side of us.

I stifled a yawn. "Let's get some rest, hmm?" They nodded, and the three of us retreated into an empty room.

That night, I slept surrounded by the scent of a life long gone.

~oOo~

"No, no, not the stomach… it'll damage the organs. We won't want the authorities upon us. Nothing near the hips, the current will damage her… reproductive organs. We don't want to cause obvious damage, I say."

The cold of the floor seeped past my dress and into my bones. The wall at my back was rough and unpolished. It dug into my shoulder blade. It caught my messy hair so that it hurt when I turned my head.

"The arm is too obvious, everyone will be able to see her arm. No, it has to be somewhere discrete. There is no meat on the ankle! Have you no mind? My boy, we want to cause maximum pain with minimum injury!"

I'm sorry I got the dress so dirty, Mum.

"…There we go."

Something cold and hard was cuffed around my upper thigh. There was a click, a buzz.

And it hurt. A tingling sensation to the power of three hundred. Numb and stinging at the same time. So much.

Electricity.

I screamed.

And screamed.

And screamed.

I didn't take it. I don't want it. I don't even like it. _Why_ would I take it?

"Where did you take it, little witch?"

It wasn't me!

My left leg jerked so hard I almost kicked my face. Then the electric current faded. I had barely caught my breath before it started up again.

"Just tell grandma, and it'll all be over."

"I d-d-didn't take-e i-it!"

My overweight grandmother turned her back and waddled away. "Make sure she spits it out, my boy."

And so my father stayed. Not as my protector as I had always believed. But as my tormenter.

My body survived on instinct. It must have taken breath when it had the chance, kept itself awake, lucid, enough for me to make it because all I remembered was the pain.

Against the back wall of the basement, under a two-storey mansion, in the centre of acres and acres of land. There was no one to hear me scream.

"Risumi, hey! Risumi!" Someone said. I was sure I told them to leave me alone but someone completely bypassed that and grabbed me by both shoulders. My eyes snapped open before they had time to start shaking me. I knew this routine.

"I'm awake, you psychotic mother ducking son of a..." I muttered, glowering at the large hand on my shoulder and followed the arm back to the face of… I blinked. "What?" I turned to the right but there was another face. "Oh." Yesterday's events flooded into my sleep-addled brain. That was the second time I had woken with two people peering down at me. It is a disconcerting feeling, to be watched while you sleep.

They pulled back to let me sit up, which I did, grudgingly. I ran a hand through my damp, sweat-soaked hair. My left leg was tingling unpleasantly. "Oh."

Kurapika cleared his throat. "You were screaming." He said, gently.

I sighed and let my head fall back on the wall behind me. "Sorry you had to see that."

"Are you okay?" This time Leorio spoke.

"Sure." I climbed to my feet. I took a step and my left leg gave way.

I crashed onto both knees.

I bit my tongue.

"In a bit." I said thickly. Leorio and Kurapika picked me up by my arms and led me to a bench by the window.

"What was it about?" Kurapika asked. I'm sure he looked concerned, and he sure sounded so, but I wouldn't know because I refused to meet his eyes.

"They wouldn't believe me." I said at last.

"They?" He prompted.

"Grandma. Dad."

They shared a look over my head. Leorio took Kurapika aside and I caught the words 'trauma' and 'memory' in their whispered conversation. I sighed. There was no going back now. Why did I have to dream that? It had been several months since the last time and I let myself by fooled into a false sense of security. I got up. They were both at my side in a flash, holding me up.

"Guys, I'm fine now, thanks." I said, smiling reluctantly. Their worry was touching. "I'm just going to wash up." At least they let me go about that alone.

When I came out of the bathroom some half hour later, all four of them were waiting for me at the door. Their eyes were filled with honest worry, despite Killua looking somewhat bored. I wanted to tell them thank you – thank you for caring about me. But what I said was, "Did you all listen to me shower?"

~oOo~

"May the trials begin. Good luck."

And with that our group of forty was stranded on the top of a tower-like prison. We had three days to get to the bottom. I peered slowly down the side. We were so high up that for a moment I thought I were weightless. I tripped to get away from the edge. It would be suicide to climb down that. Someone seconded my opinion out loud.

"For ordinary people, yeah." A muscly man in a singlet top stepped forward. "With such grips, it's a child's game for somebody used to climbing cliffs." He moved down the side of the tower deftly like a spider – in control of each and every limb.

Distantly came the sound of large leathery wings beating against the air. I looked to my left. Crimson monsters raced towards us. I backed away from the edge. I didn't have enough time to make out any distinct features, just a large jaw filled with spikes and the scream of the rock-climbing applicant as he was picked off the wall like a grape.

"I don't think going down the wall is a good idea." Leorio mumbled.

You don't say.

"There must be…" Kurapika mused, "A trapdoor that leads inside."

We stared out at the expanse of brickwork and applicants. I watched them idly as they milled around the top. It was getting much hotter than when we landed. I debated between keeping my cloak on and baking, or taking it off and burning. I pushed my bangs away from my forehead. One, two, three… thirteen, fourteen… twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three.

Twenty-three? That's it?

"Twenty-three?" Leorio yelped beside me. I guess we all reached the same conclusion.

"We're down the half the amount of when we arrived here." Kurapika affirmed.

"Wha- but when?" said Leorio.

Kurapika scanned the rooftop. "I can't really think they all discretely used the same way to get down."

"Yeah," I agreed, "someone would have started throwing punches a long time ago."

"There must be several hidden doors." He concluded. At that moment, Gon and Killua ran to us.

"Risumi, Leorio, Kurapika!" Gon called, still running. "We found a way to go down." He said, more calmly. "But we're still deliberating."

Did he just say 'deliberating'?

"How can you hesitate?" Leorio demanded of him.

"Well, there are a lot of them." He led us over to a cluster of trapdoors near the centre of the roof. He pointed out the tiles one by one. They were grouped suspiciously close together.

"There are probably some that are traps." Kurapika said.

"Moreover, it seems the trapdoor function only works one time." Killua added. Gon explained how he and Killua saw a guy going in and tried the door but it wouldn't move. "In fact, the passing by is done one-by-one. That means each one has to enter through a different door." Killua concluded, matter of factly.

Leorio tapped one door. "It looks right considering the size of the passage, it's only the size of one person."

Killua spoke up. "Gon and I have decided to pass through one of these five doors."

"Yeah, even if it's a trap, no regrets." Gon agreed. "And you?" He asked the rest of us. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going in." I nodded.

"Me too," Leorio agreed. "I was told luck was part of the skill."

"Who chooses first?" Kurapika asked.

We scrambled into a game of scissors-paper-rock and one by one we stood by a door.

"At three, we all go at the same time. Our road splits here." Gon said, cheerfully.

"See you again on the real ground." Leorio smiled.

"All the best." I wished them.

"One, two, three!"

I had already landed on the door, felt it slipping underneath me when something heavy hurtled into my back, jerking a scream out of me.

I crashed onto the ground inside. A strangled cry tore from my throat as a dead weight crushed my lower body. I flailed to escape. It was densely soft, a body. I pushed my front half up and sank my elbow into their stomach.

"Ooft."

A man.

I punched him square in the nose with all the force I could muster. The dead weight got off my back and I got a good look at him.

"Oh, frickity-frack," I rolled my eyes, "not you again." I climbed gingerly to my feet and brushed my hair out of my face. My knees were bleeding through my clean black pants and my hips stung dully when I pressed them.

The four faces that I bade goodbye and good luck to not a minute earlier stared back at me. "Oh, wow." I said. Tonpa, meanwhile, was pinching his bleeding nose. That's the least he deserves for what he did. "Seriously?" I glared at him. "No one – _no one_ – does that!"

"Nee-chan, are you alright?"

"Yeah, you alright there?"

"Are you okay, Risumi?"

"Whoa, man, you alright?"

"I'll live." I said, picking at the ripped fabric in my wounds. Leorio knelt down in front of me.

"Roll up your pants." He said, authoritatively. I did. He pulled out a bottle of disinfectant and a ball of cotton wool and set about cleaning my knees. When he finished taping them up, he lifted my fuzzy sweater a crack and pulled the waistband of my pants to expose one of my hip bones which were swelling an angry purple. All this was done with complete professionalism – quick and impersonal.

"Wow, you're going to make a really good doctor." I remarked. He laughed and gave me another bottle.

"Rub that into your bruises twice a day and they should fade within the week."

"Wow, thanks," was all I could say.

"So, we all ended up in the same room…" Killua remarked.

"…But there's no exit." Gon finished. A pause. "Hey, there's a sign up there."

He didn't mean it metaphorically.

[Choice of the Way by the Majority. For the five candidates, you will have to reach your goal by following the majority's rule.]

"Five?" Kurapika said out loud.

I glared at Tonpa. "Well there would be, if this lump hadn't attacked me."

He held his hands up defensively. "I'm so, so sorry, miss." He smiled, crookedly. "But I didn't hurt you on purpose."

I stared at him.

"All I did was jump on you!" He added, frustrated.

"Should I file for sexual assault, then?" I snapped at him.

He shut up.

Leorio peered at the table. "Hey, there are five watches here."

"With X and O buttons." Killua added.

"All right!" A high male voice blasted from the speaker mounted on the wall. "This tower contains numerous passages. Each one contains its own crossway. You can only move forward following majority rules. It's impossible to pass on the vote of a single person. The difficult part is that cooperating is the essential condition. On that note, just fight well!"

"So…" I began. "Who doesn't get a say in this?"

Tonpa strode over to the table and snapped one onto his meaty wrist. "Well certainly not me."

I just stared at him. The others each strap one on. Fair enough, no one wants to leave their future in the hands of other people. At least I can trust the boys to make a good decision. Tonpa on the other hand…

The door slid open.

Tonpa strode ahead. "Well let's go!"

"Why the hell is _he_ leading?" I heard Leorio mutter under his breath and couldn't help but agree.

The door opened into another room with another closed door. There was another screen mounted on top. [The door: O opens, X does not.]

"Already a choice." Leorio commented. "The choice seems obvious to me, however." They all pushed a button, and the door opened. The screen now read [O4, X1].

Leorio slowly turned around. "Who pressed X?"

"Ah, sorry!" Tonpa smiled apologetically, scratching the back of his head. "I messed up pushing!"

Your mum did.

Leorio got up close and personal to the little man. "So, Grandpa? Your sight is getting worse? Don't joke with me."

Tonpa narrowed his eyes. "I apologised, didn't I?" He wasn't smiling anymore.

"I don't know anyone who would confused an X and an O."

"Hey, it's open." Gon interrupted. "We can go."

"Not so fast. I'm sure that jerk did it on purpose."

"Time is acting against us." Kurapika pointed out.

"Yeah, we can just beat him up as we go." I suggested helpfully.

"Even if he does this each time we'll still be able to move forward." Killua said.

Leorio glared at the oldest-of-us-but-hardly-the-wisest one last time. "Okay, let's go."

The door opened onto a stretch of corridor with both sides blocked off by bars. O for right and X for left. This was going to take forever.

The results popped up in favour of going right.

"What does this mean? Usually in such a case we choose the left, don't we?" Leorio barked. "For me choosing the left side is obvious, choosing the right isn't reassuring to me!"

"Well," said Kurapika, "Some behaviour studies have shown that it appears when people are lost and have to make one of these decisions, they unconsciously choose left."

"I've heard the same thing." Killua added.

Did those two read _medical journals_ in their spare time?

"Wait a sec, I don't understand anything!" Leorio protested. "What you're telling me is exactly the opposite of the result obtained, isn't it?"

"Right."

Yeah."

Leorio bristled like an aggravated hedgehog.

"Instinctively, we choose the left side." Tonpa held up one finger up smugly. "If the members of the jury know this there's a strong possibility that they put a higher level of difficulty on the left."

"Exactly!" Kurapika agreed.

Our aspiring doctor huffed. "Looks like there are two idiots among us." He muttered to Gon. Gon's smile froze for a second.

To be completely honest I was hoping for the right side, for no apparent reason. It's just a feeling. Perhaps it's because I'm right handed, the _left_ isn't reassuring to me.

Soon after that scuffle, we were approaching the end of the tunnel. Beyond the door I couldn't see anything save for the glint of fire light. It was too dark to be sure and we all instinctively slowed our step.

Suddenly there was a clang just behind me. I whirled around and was faced with a set of prison-issue bars. There was no turning back. The rest of our path opened onto a small platform, just large enough to fit us all.

In the middle of the… room? Cavern? Hall? …was a brick platform similar to the sparring ring in our dojo on a single column. The four corners were marked each with a flaming torch. There was nothing connecting us to the platform, and likewise nothing connecting the platform to the door on the opposite side where hooded figures were emerging.

There was the clang of metal dropping to the ground followed by the figure in front whipping off his hood. The man had such broad shoulders he was shaped like a triangle. White scars marred his bald head. His neck was so thick that even from this distance I didn't think both my hands could fit around it comfortably. How hard did you have to work out to gain _neck_ muscles?

"We are jurors for the trial commission." He roared across the cavern. "Our mission is to fight you."

I hope I don't fight that guy. I hope they aren't all meatheads.

"The matches are one-on-one and one can only fight once!"

Did he say one?

"The order of the passage is free. You'll have to reach three victories if you want to go on!"

Majority rules again.

"The rules are extremely simple: Everything is allowed! There is no limit! The defeat of one means victory of his opponent!"

Did he say one?

"You only have to say whether you accept this trial or not? O if you accept, X if you refuse."

"Another waste of time." Leorio grumbled. "If we want to qualify we have to go through this. It's obvious we'll all choose O!"

Uh-huh, it's not like those iron bars behind us are just going to up and away, either.

"You must be really dumb to choose something else." Leorio added, under his breath.

"It's okay, I totally understand." Tonpa said. Leorio was not known for his subtlety.

They all pushed their buttons. I wished I had Tonpa's device instead.

"There we are!" Leorio shouted, across the room. "Unanimous."

The meathead's mouth twitched into a smirk. "I'm the one beginning. Choose your contestant now!"

I tugged at my bangs. What was this, a game show? We could die.

Beside me, Tonpa stepped forward. "I'm going." He said, resolutely.

We all stared at him.

"Since everything is allowed," he continued, "we don't know what will happen. I'm going to be the tester. This is my way of apologising."

No one spoke. He had a point. It would be wise to send a pawn. But now I feel bad. Maybe he's not such an awful guy, this was a pretty big leap of faith after all. I somewhat wanted to take his place by way of thanks for being gallant, but he was right. This was completely unknown territory and I wasn't quite willing to take his fall for him.

"Actually no one trusts me, right?" Tonpa added.

Well… pretty much, yeah.

"Imagine its two to two and I'm the tie breaker."

That would suck thoroughly.

There must be someone monitoring what goes on in here because as soon as a decision was made, a walkway extended from our ledge and attached itself to the platform. It was just barely wide enough for a person. I drew a five cent piece from my pocket while Tonpa was busy edging his stubby legs down the walkway and flicked it into the gaping abyss. I counted seconds, but I never did hear the clang of copper at the bottom.

The walkway retracted as soon as Tonpa stepped off it. He was stranded.

"Well," Meathead glared, "for the fight itself, I propose a fight to the death! Until the death or the desertion of a fighter, we'll fight."

We all stared. A death match? As if anyone was thick-headed enough to accept those terms.

"I accept!"

Is he freaking serious?

The meathead sank into a crouching stance. "That's the determination… and on that note… LET'S FIGHT!" He charged.

I expected a vicious clash of fists, and I certainly got something dramatic.

"I quite!" Our guinea pig prostrated himself on the floor. What.

"He – he said 'I quit, didn't he?" hesitated Gon.

Leorio shook his head, "He must have meant to say 'I'm quite ready', right?"

"What did you say?" The meathead clarified for us.

Tonpa put one hand behind his head in an attempt to look casual while he sweated profusely with a twitchy eye. "I quit. I lost"

The meathead burst out laughing. The sign above the opponent's door blipped from a 0 to a 1. No-one moved as Tonpa waddled back to us. Everyone was busy calculating. We lost one out of five. With four people left, we had to win three matches. That's 75% of matches. Much higher than the 60 we needed if we just refused that lying piece of shit to play for us. Tonpa did not meet our gaze.

"It's not very glorious, but … close up, he looked really strong. You understand."

Leorio grabbed him by the collar so hard his feet lifted off the floor. "Oh, I understand." Leorio snarled. "Your hobby is to do all you can to disturb others."

Tonpa's face flickered between scared and smug. It settled on smug. "Exactly. You have understood everything. And I'm not even close to stopping it. It's this way I've stayed alive 'till now."

Say what, now?

"Listen up. There's a big difference between you and me. I don't want to become a hunter."

My temples ached. This was going to be a long phase.

~oOo~

Please leave your reviews!

I want to recommend three books I read over the summer holidays, you know, for study. They are very different from your standard teenage fiction, but so epic.

The first is 'The Boundless Sublime' by Lili Wilkinson. I picked it up because it was new. I didn't want to read it. You could just tell it was going to be a complete train wreck two pages in and I didn't want to be so invested. I read it like a page at a time when I was waiting for the bus and it sucked me in against my will. Like slowly climbing a roller-coaster, thinking 'what a great view, this isn't so bad' and reaching the peak and having the living breath jerked out of you as the ground gave way. It was like that. I have never before read about this topic, and it is quite morbid, and brings you right into the human subconsciousness.

The second is called 'The Skin of a Monster' by Kathryn Barker, and it is very unusual. The protagonist's identical twin sister gunned down seven kids. She's hated and persecuted because she reminds them of the killer of their children, their siblings. There's a parallel dimension of the town's dreams that has been messed up since that incident. It's a heartbreaking story. It switches between the protagonist's and another person's perspective. I can't remember the writing style at this point, but I remember it gave me chills. There is so much human response to a tragedy, the ugly side to all of us. The way the story unfolds and you find out bits at a time of the full story will make you shiver.

The final one is 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak that I'm sure you're all familiar with. It was a very popular movie a few years back. I have seen the full movie and it's great, very realistic and touching. But the book. The book is on a whole other level. The way this guy writes is amazing. You don't just see the words, you feel the words. When Liesel picks up a book from the bonfire I was suffocating with her. It's indescribable. It made me cry in three separate scenes. And let me tell you, 'Rudy dies' is the biggest lie by omission you will ever hear. During the final death scene I kept being interrupted by my family wanting me to see this, help them with this, asking me what I think of that. I had to re-read it over and over. It took them so long to die. And poor Rudy. All he wanted was a kiss. This book is simply beautiful. The movie chopped out some controversial bits about the Holocaust, which some reviewers were salty about, but book gives you nothing to complain. Honestly this is one of the most beautiful books you will ever read.


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